Rugby: Ireland stage comeback but fall short of target

Ireland trailed 21-3 before mustering a comeback to lose their warm-up match to the Barbarians, 29-23, a week before they take on the All Blacks and Wallabies.

The Irish were without Lions lock Paul O'Connell, Stephen Ferris and other front-line players. A stomach bug then forced out winger Shane Horgan. Flanker David Wallace and Jonathan Sexton, who sustained a knock in the warm-up, were late withdrawals from the replacements bench.

Four past All Blacks were in the Barbarians team - Casey Laulala, captain and No 8 Xavier Rush, Byron Kelleher and Rodney So'oialo (the latter two started on the bench). Laulala's 70-metre run paved the way for retiring Wallabies loose forward George Smith to score.

Ireland were flat in the first half before a late try from flanker Niall Ronan gave them some much-needed impetus, as did a try just the other side of halftime to prop Tony Buckley.

Rush, Smith, and French winger Cedric Heymans touched down for the Barbarians, with Springbok inside back Butch James kicking 11 points and Jean-Baptiste Elissalde adding a penalty goal.

O'Gara kicked 13 points to chase the Barbarians to the finishing post in a game which was also the final professional match for former Ireland lock Malcolm O'Kelly, who turned out for the Barbarians.

The Irish pushed strongly in the final quarter but still reaped no reward, as Philippe Saint-Andre's collection of world stars hung on to take a notable win. Also in the Barbarians' side were New Zealanders Census Johnson (prop) and Hurricanes winger David Smith. Fijian back Seru Rabeni, French halfback Pierre Mignoni and former Springbok hooker Schalk Brits were on the Barbarians' roster, as was Australian first five Brock James.

For Ireland coach Declan Kidney, there was much to ponder from this performance as his side prepare for two tests against New Zealand and Australia - the first of which is against the All Blacks in New Plymouth next Saturday.

Knock-ons and some fussy refereeing from Romain Poite made for a stop-start opening quarter, with the crowd chivvying the players. The Barbarians dominated possession and territory and James landed two penalties after 12 and 18 minutes to nudge them ahead.

Smith, Laulala and Rabeni threatened from long range, and the latter put a big hit in centre Fergus McFadden. Flanker and man of the match John Muldoon gained vital yardage for the hosts and O'Gara's 20th-minute penalty cut the gap to 6-3.

The scrum was a problem for Ireland, with Poite's interpretation and delayed calls not helping, and it was from a scrum in the 22 that Mignoni sent Rush over for the opening try.

James missed the conversion and although Barbarians prop David Barnes was then sin-binned for an off-the-ball offence, the tourists increased their lead. A handling error saw Ireland botch an attacking situation, leaving Laulala with a 70-metre run to the line. Fullback Rob Kearney did brilliantly to catch him but Smith crashed over.

Ireland hit back with a team try which saw Ronan take O'Gara's inside ball to go underneath the bar.

In the second half, Ireland continued their revival but, after an O'Gara penalty, James' looping pass created an overlap which saw Smith pass for Heymans to score.

The Barbarians then had to defend against Irish pressure. Elissalde kicked a close-range penalty to make it 29-13. Buckley fended off three defenders as he bulldozed his way to the tryline after a 60th-minute tap penalty but the Irish could not finish it off.

Winger Andrew Trimble, Muldoon and replacements Tommy Bowe and Paddy Wallace were prominent.