8th May 2004
2nd Senior Flag International Challenge
Marlay Park, Rathfarnham, Ireland
Ireland 6-13 England
England travelled to Dublin with an experienced 18 man squad drawn from 6 ESFL sides to
take on Ireland in the 2nd Senior Flag International Challenge match between the
countries. In warm conditions England came out with an all-out pass attack, but they
hadn't counted on the superb secondary of the Irish who shut them out on their opening
four drives without completing a pass. Ireland's offense moved the ball well throughout,
but England DB's stepped up to the plate and ended all their long drives with
interceptions - the most promising drive ending when Vincent Gurrea picked off Ireland QB
Kevin Mullen on England's 5 yard line after he had led them down field on the back of good
running by Steve Dunne and Liam Farrell.
Towards the end of the first half, Andre Clarke picked off Mullen to give England the ball
in great field position. Three plays later, QB Roy Tanton found Nick Moffat over the
middle from two yards out to put England ahead. Nick Watson hit Gurkinder Mann in the
corner of the endzone for the 1 PAT to give England a 7-0 lead at the end of the first
half.    
Ireland came out with a time consuming drive at the beginning of the second half that took
almost 20 minutes off of the clock, which culminated in Steve Dunne's 5 yard run up the
middle on a draw play, but crucially the 2 PAT fell short as Ireland looked to take the
lead.
Tanton tried to hit straight back for England with a 40 yard pass down the right hand
touchline to his North Devon Dogs teammate Johnny Stevenson to give England a 1st and goal
from the Ireland 6, but they could not punch the ball in with the closest being Matt
Stevenson's catch in the endzone being ruled that he did not have full control as he
landed.
England did not have to wait long to put the clinching score on the board when Abdul Lawal
returned a Mullen's 5th interception of the game 21 yards for a score to make the score
13-6 with 9 minutes left. Ireland had one last chance to score, and drove down to the
England 20 yard line, but strong tackling by Brown, Michael and Clarke, and breaks up by
Tim Smith and Lawal snuffed out these chances to give England revenge for the 27-7 loss
they suffered in 2000.
At the end of game ceremony, Ireland chose Vincent Gurrea as the England MVP who had 3
interceptions in the game, and England chose Ireland DB Peter Mullen for his outstanding
play in the Irish secondary. Special thanks must also go to Liam Farrell for organising
the game, and the IAFL officials who officiated a game played in good spirits throughout.
Scoring:
0-7 Moffat 2 yard pass from Tanton (Watson to Mann 1 PAT) 43.51
6-7 Dunne 5 yard run (2 PAT failed) 60.12
6-13 Lawal 21 yard interception return (1 PAT failed) 81.23
Squads:
England: Nick Watson, Roy Tanton, Simon Allen, John Parsons, Nick Michael, Matt Heasman,
Barnaby Kerr, Nick Moffat, Matt Stevenson, John Stevenson, Hitesh Patel, Dave Duncan,
Martin Brown, Abdul Lawal, Vincent Gurrea, Andre Clarke, Gurkinder Mann, Tim Smith
Ireland: Liam Farrell, Steve Dunne, Bob Curran, Kevin Mullen, Iain McGuinness, John
Canning, Peter Mullen, Darren Brady, Aidan Kelly, Cameron Cramer
England Statistics:
Passing:
Watson 5-21-45-0-0
Tanton 4-7-53-0-1
Rushing:
Brown 1-8, Parsons 2-4, Allen 1-6, Tanton 1-2
Receiving:
Mann 3-37, J.Stevenson 2-46, Watson 1-5, Michael 1-5, Parsons 1-3, Moffat
1-2-1
Interceptions:
Gurrea 3-26, Lawal 1-21-1, Clarke 1-0
Punt Returns
Brown 1-18
Kick Returns
M.Stevenson 2-24
Punts
Smith 3-93
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