Horgan's try against England one of greatest Irish rugby moments
Ahead of the 2020 Six Nations Championship kick-off, the sport, news, business and entertainment webside, Extra.ie has compiled data from a sample of their 1.4 million monthly unique Irish users to reveal what Irish rugby supporters consider the greatest Six Nations moments of all time.
MAKING HISTORY
Over one third (34%) agreed that the 2009 moment when Ronan O’Gara pulled off a last minute drop goal to win Ireland’s first Grand Slam in 61 years was the single greatest in Six Nations history. Interestingly, more than a quarter (26%) concurred that history was made in 2007 when Ireland destroyed England 43-13 in England’s first ever visit to Croke Park.
GREATEST LEADER
Taking the majority of the popular vote at 54%, Brian O’ Driscoll has been named the greatest Six Nations captain in history driving Ireland to victory multiple times from 2003 - 2012. As the eighth-highest try scorer in international rugby union history, and the highest scoring centre of all time, O'Driscoll is a player that has lead from within holding the Six Nations record for most tries scored with 26. He has scored the most Heineken Cup tries (30) by an Irishman.
BEST TRY
Almost three in every 10 surveyed in the Extra.ie research were in accord that Shane Horgan’s iconic try against England in Croke Park in 2007 was the best beating out the moment that Tommy Bowe caught a crossfield ball to dot down against Wales to help win a Grand Slam in 2009 (12%) and in 2005, when Brian O’Driscoll ghosted through the French backline in a mazy run (13%)
LOW POINT
Exactly half of those questioned experienced the same disappointment when only last year: Ireland and Joe Schmidt’s bubble explodes spectacularly as England trashed us on home soil. Additionally, one in six Irish rugby supporters were left crestfallen during the first ever rugby match at Croke Park in 2007 which saw France end a massively-hyped Ireland team’s hopes of a Grand Slam.
2020
Though clearly proud supporters of the Irish team, at 60% the majority of respondents do not think Ireland will win the 2020 Six Nations Championship. Speaking on this and his predictions for the season ahead, Cormac Cahill, Head of Sport at Extra.ie said: “After a disappointing World Cup it’s not surprising that Irish people aren’t full of confidence heading into this tournament, but with the right mix of new talent and seasoned pros, Andy Farrell has a real chance to make a big impact of his debut tournament as head coach.”