The seconds are running out in Twickenham and the public shakes the London cathedral when the referee bows his arm and gives the lead to his team.
An affordable kick will turn the score around, but those in white continue attacking that cushion.
Any mistake is forgiven and Marcus Smith pockets the ball between the sticks after a bounce early with time running out and makes it 23-22.
A kick that, to say the least, delays Ireland's surge and, above all, deprives it of its place in the rugby pantheon, since the Clover XV aspired to be the first team in the history of the Six Nations that not only defends the title , but wins two Grand Slams – winning all matches – consecutively.
Despite the disappointment, he has it in his power to win the trophy, something he will do if he beats Scotland in Dublin on Saturday on the last day, but his check on history was lost in the capital of the empire.
AGENT SMITH.
Blessed rugby, blessed 6 Nations.
Marcus Smith's drop, out of time, to defeat Ireland and avoid their Triple Crown. #JoinTheMelé pic.twitter.com/49KEmpcVXy
— Rugby on Movistar Plus+ (@MovistarRugby) March 9, 2024
Ireland's worst game in two years ended in defeat, even though England was determined not to seal the coffin.
The team that had marked a gap with the rest—not only did it win its first three games, but it did so with the offensive bonus point for scoring four tries—arrived without electric charge in London against a rival that imposed the style of play: less rhythm, more expertise in small spaces.
The rapid volleys with which the XV del Trébol subdue the rival forwards did not appear;
It was played in the trenches, fouling balls, playing on foot.
The XV de la Rosa put a straitjacket on its rival and recovered its damaged self-esteem after two doubtful victories against Italy and Wales and a defeat in Edinburgh and is now the alternative to Ireland: it would have to win with a bonus point in Paris and that XV del Trebol fell to Scotland without adding the defensive bonus of losing by seven points or less.
The Scots and France – if they win today with a bonus against Wales – would arrive with mathematical options, but not realistic ones, since their assault would require reversing a point difference of +76 in favor of the greens.
James Lowe, the great Irish scorer, came close to saving his team's bad day with two powerful tries on the white line.
The second, in which he imposed his size against the impossible tackle attempt of the small Marcus Smith, put his team ahead, but Crowley missed a key conversion that would have forced the English to try to take the victory.
It was the umpteenth missed kick on a fateful afternoon for kickers, with George Ford failing procedures.
English anxiety translated into countless unforced errors, but their mastery of narrative was rewarded by the horn.
That agonizing end was made possible by Italy, which made things easier for Ireland, finally converting its notable improvement of the last two years into a victory against Scotland (31-29).
In the end it was a kick by Palo Garbisi – he missed the penalty kick with time served in February for a historic victory in Paris that finally ended in a draw – that made the difference against the then second-placed team, which would have forced the greens to win with an offensive bonus point to take the tournament having done the same in Rome.
It was a demonstration of character from Italy, which held on without crumbling in the face of a fluid first hour of the Scottish attack, weaving the forward push with the resolution of its cats.
A match that took a dramatic turn in the early stages of the second half: from what seemed like Horne's decisive try - Horne's fourth - to a video review that took the ball a minute later to the Scottish goal zone: from the 16th -29 to 21-22.
Italy got on the emotional train and fueled Scottish doubts, erratic with the ball, unable to keep it, to get out of their field.
The locals transformed territorial dominance into trials at the height of their lead.
The team condemned for its mistakes found reliability.
And discipline, rejecting the last Scottish attack without allowing a lethal penalty blow, without the referee tilting his arm, as happened in London.
It is Italy's first home victory in a Six Nations in 11 years and its second since 2015.
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