Ireland complete clean sweep
By Ben Blackmore
Last Updated: 01/01/70 1:00am
Ireland made it three wins from three by thrashing the Pacific Islands 61-17.
Paddy Wallace was the star of the show as Ireland gave Lansdowne Road the perfect send-off with a 61-17 triumph over the Pacific Islands.
Wallace, standing in for first-choice fly-half Ronan O'Gara, confirmed himself an able deputy with 26 points as Ireland ran riot.
Playing at Lansdowne Road for the last time before it undergoes a two-year renovation, Eddie O'Sullivan's men ran in eight tries in a comprehensive display.
Wallace was one of the men to go over, with Denis Hickie, Malcolm O'Kelly, Simon Easterby (2), Shane Horgan, Rory Best and Paul O'Connell all getting in on the act.
Having already beaten Southern Hemisphere giants South Africa and Australia during November, O'Sullivan fielded an understrength line-up against the Islanders, with fly-half a specific point of interest.
With O'Gara firmly established as the number one stand-off, few have had the chance to stake their claim for a World Cup spot next year, until now.
Wallace stood up to the mark with a superb kicking display that allied composure with the ability to unlock a powerful Islanders defence, capping his performance with a first half try.
Luke Fitzgerald enjoyed a much quieter afternoon, seeing little of the action as he became the youngest Irish international since 1977.
Things started poorly for the hosts, who conceded two first half tries before lifting their game on the stroke of half-time.
After Hickie had benefited from a sublime Wallace dummy to open the scoring on two minutes, the Islanders were allowed back into the contest scoring two tries of their own.
Leicester's Seru Rabeni led the fightback, capitalising on the fine work of Kameli Ratuvou, who had gathered his own chip ahead to provide the assist.
Ireland's points were now coming from the boot of Wallace, despite Brian O'Driscoll creating several openings, and they were soon left to rue their own inability to capitalise on Justin Va'a's sin-binning.
Lome Fa'atau touched down to add to the Islanders' advantage, before Ireland finally pulled themselves together on the 40-minute mark.
First, Wallace went over thanks to a good pass from half-back partner Peter Stringer, and then O'Kelly was the beneficiary of some questionable defending by the visitors.
The late burst meant Ireland went into the interval 30-12 up, and they flew out of the blocks in the second period.
O'Driscoll was again prominent as Easterby drove over, and then on the 50th-minute mark Horgan gathered Stringer's kick to score.
The one worrying moment of the day then arrived as O'Driscoll limped off, but it did not stop the hosts adding three more scores in an emphatic triumph.
Tusi Pisi did grab a consolation for the Islanders, but it did not stop the momentum of the Ireland juggernaut.
