Beating England: great. Preventing them from winning a second consecutive Grand Slam: wonderful. Halting their quest for rugby's longest Test match win streak: extraordinary. But take all of that history business out of the equation and Ireland's win tonight would still linger long in the memory because it involved beating England with Mike Brown at ultimate prickmode.
Different England players reacted differently to the Irish pressure tonight. There were unexpected knock-ons and dumb penalties. Mike Brown's way of coping with the Ireland pressure in the second half: acting the maggot.
The first noteable incident came in the middle of the second half, when passions were at their peak After Andrew Conway gave away a penalty for tackling in the air and Brown grabbed Conway by the shirt, like a high school bully picking on the new kid in school. Conway however did not back down.
Andrew Conway giving both barrels to Mike Brown.
Welcome to international rugby!— Cian Tracey (@CianTracey1) March 18, 2017
Conway beats Brown in a scrap for me. Every day of the week
— Jordi Murphy (@Jordimurphy) March 18, 2017
Then late in the second half, Brown flattened Robbie Henshaw with a moment of true bastardry. Henshaw went down lightly but this was vintage Brown.
#IREvENG well that makes it feel a little better... @EnglandRugby @mikebrown_15 Unlucky boys 🌹🏉 pic.twitter.com/rL04qMS4AZ
— Jack Aroskin (@JAroskin) March 18, 2017
And wouldn't you know it? The match ended on a Mike Brown knock-on. The English-speaking rugby world was temporarily united in joy at Brown's expense.
Mike Brown knocking on..the perfect way for it to end.
— Vincent Hogan (@Vincent_Hogan) March 18, 2017
@therealjoecarty "Mike Brown: If malice aforethought had a face" 👏👏👏👏👏#IrevEng
— Glenny Rodgers (@HenryForthwith) March 18, 2017
Mike Brown dropping the ball was the perfect end to a great win!!🍀😜👍 #prick #IrevEng
— Shane O'Brien (@shaneob1985) March 18, 2017
@WelshRugbyUnion @irelandrfu Thank you for that! From all of Wales.. couldnt have happened to a nicer bloke @mikebrown_15 😂😂😂
— Ozzie (@steve_ozz) March 18, 2017
Mike Brown knocks on... Chuckle...
— SimmoLeigh (@simmoleigh) March 18, 2017
Cheers for the knock on @mikebrown_15 You made a lot of people happy 👍
— Chris Davies (@RubbishNo3) March 18, 2017
Beating England is always sweet but there will always be something unusually satisfying about beating an England team with Mike Brown.
