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English face tough task at Croke Park stadium

France may have thought the atmosphere at Croke Park was like what the Christians experienced when they were led into the Colisseum to be devoured by wild animals when they played Ireland in the Six Nations a week ago, but it is nothing compared to what is anticipated for the arrival of the English next Saturday.

"The last time the English were here was when the `Black and Tans' mowed down 13 people, let's hope they [the rugby team] aren't quite so merciless," commented one Dublin taxi driver.

He was of course referring to the day back in 1920 when, in revenge for the assassination of 12 British spies earlier that day, the auxiliary force of the British Army -- the Black and Tans, who were mainly made up of World War I veterans a lot of whom were mentally scarred from their experiences on the Western Front -- lost control and shot 13 people in Croke Park.

"The game against England on March 11 could cause problems and the playing of God Save The Queen could provoke an interesting reaction," said one member of the the Gaelic Athletics Association (GAA) -- the owners of the ground.

Given that several of the Irish team are Northern Irish -- the sport has been one of the few on the island to put out a united team down the years -- they could be entitled to sing both anthems, so in reality it shouldn't be a problem.

However there are those -- including republican splinter group the Republican Sinn Fein (RSF) -- who will still protest at England's presence at Croke Park.

"The political symbolism of inviting the national team of a country which forcibly occupies part of Ireland to Croke Park is something Irish republicans are determined to publicly protest against," Des Dalton, RSF's vice-president, told the Guardian.

His view is not generally regarded as the norm in the country as a whole and former Ireland wing Trevor Ringland, who runs the anti-sectarian "One Small Step" campaign in Northern Ireland, sees it as another step forward.

"The fact that this game is being played at Croke Park, thanks to the generous decision of the Gaelic Athletic Association, will have positive ripple effects for the future," the Ulsterman told the Guardian.

The seriousness with which the English camp are taking the ground's bloody past has been highlighted by coach Brian Ashton -- himself a former Ireland coach -- calling in former Ireland fullback Conor O'Shea -- who now works with the Rugby Football Union (RFU) -- to explain to the players the symbolism of Croke Park and why there might be a reaction when they run out on the pitch next Saturday.

"In one way England must treat it as just another game," the 35-times capped O'Shea told the Daily Telegraph.

"But it will be more than just another game for Ireland," added O'Shea, whose father won three All-Ireland Gaelic Football finals in the 1950's.

If the England players need any inspiration then they need look no further than their 1973 predecessors who unlike the Scots and the Welsh the year before agreed -- under some pressure from the RFU -- to play at Lansdowne Road at the height of the "Troubles."

They received a five minute standing ovation which provoked several of the England players to burst into tears and the result, an 18-9 win for Ireland, was largely irrelevant and the whole day was beautifully summed up by England captain John Pullin at the post match dinner.

"We may not be any good but at least we turned up," he said.
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