Marcus Smith drop-goal denies Ireland another Six Nations Grand Slam

A last-ditch drop-goal from replacement Marcus Smith saw an impressive England stun Ireland 23-22 in an absorbing Six Nations clash at Twickenham on Saturday.

The shock result denies the Irish a shot at back-to-back Grand Slams as they came off second best to a much-improved performance from the Red Rose in front of their fans.

Tries from Ollie Lawrence, George Furbank and Ben Earl were added to by a conversion apiece for George Ford and Smith before the latter landed that late drop-goal for the win.

The Achilles heel of failing to capitalise on visits to the 22 appeared to be harming England once again and their 8-6 lead was a poor return for half an hour of dominance that produced just a single try for Lawrence.

But they were inspired in the closing stages, soaking up James Lowe’s 72nd-minute try that appeared to have snatched the win for Ireland and then striking through Smith amid a late do-or-die assault.

England dazzled from the start and their first try had Furbank’s influence stamped all over it as he launched the counter-attack and then helped flash the ball to Lawrence, who finished in the left corner.

The early score developed into a full-scale onslaught as inspired England poured forward, directed by Ford and with Earl, Ollie Chessum and full debutant Immanuel Feyi-Waboso making telling contributions.

Bundee Aki made ground with every carry as Ireland’s main weapon but he was swimming against the tide as the white shirts pressed again and a second Lawrence try was ruled out because of a knock-on.

The crippling handling errors and turnovers that led to Scotland retaining the Calcutta Cup in round three had vanished, replaced by players running hard on to flat passes and punching holes in the visiting defence.

Yet for all the hosts’ dominance, successive Jack Crowley penalties meant they trailed 9-8 and as Ireland produced their first sustained attack the fly-half landed a fourth shot from the tee.

England were guilty of inviting pressure when Ford missed a routine penalty and Furbank took the ball into touch, but when their line were breached for the first time in the 44th minute it was because of their opponents’ killer instinct by exploiting Henry Slade’s positioning in the blitz defence to conjure a try for Lowe.

Furbank hit back quickly by racing over in the left corner after slick approach work from his team-mates and suddenly the pendulum swung again.

Ireland captain Peter O’Mahony was sent to the sin-bin for hands in the ruck and England seized their chance, battering away at the green wall through route one until Earl forced his way over.

Smith replaced Ford and Danny Care came on for his 100th cap but the Harlequins fly-half was unable to stop Lowe with his despairing late tackle attempt as Ireland crept back in front.

Elliot Daly missed with a long-range penalty attempt but there was still time for England to conjure the Six Nations win, Smith splitting the posts after his team had battered away at the whitewash.

😱 THE DRAMA!#GuinnessM6N @EnglandRugby pic.twitter.com/tdA5i2EPDl

― Guinness Men's Six Nations (@SixNationsRugby) March 9, 2024

The teams

England:  15 George Furbank, 14 Immanuel Feyi-Waboso, 13 Henry Slade, 12 Ollie Lawrence, 11 Tommy Freeman, 10 George Ford, 9 Alex Mitchell, 8 Ben Earl, 7 Sam Underhill, 6 Ollie Chessum, 5 George Martin, 4 Maro Itoje, 3 Dan Cole, 2 Jamie George (c), 1 Ellis Genge
Replacements:  16 Theo Dan, 17 Joe Marler, 18 Will Stuart, 19 Chandler Cunningham-South, 20 Alex Dombrandt, 21 Danny Care, 22 Marcus Smith, 23 Elliot Daly

Ireland:  15 Hugo Keenan, 14 Calvin Nash, 13 Robbie Henshaw, 12 Bundee Aki, 11 James Lowe, 10 Jack Crowley, 9 Jamison Gibson-Park, 8 Caelan Doris, 7 Josh van der Flier, 6 Peter O’Mahony (c), 5 Tadhg Beirne, 4 Joe McCarthy, 3 Tadhg Furlong, 2 Dan Sheehan, 1 Andrew Porter
Replacements:  16 Ronan Kelleher, 17 Cian Healy, 18 Finlay Bealham, 19 Iain Henderson, 20 Ryan Baird, 21 Jack Conan, 22 Conor Murray, 23 Ciaran Frawley

Referee:  Nika Amashukeli (Georgia)
Assistant Referees:  Andrea Piardi (Italy), Craig Evans (Wales)
TMO:  Ben Whitehouse (Wales)

Ireland secure Grand Slam after victory over 14-man England

Ireland claimed their fourth ever Grand Slam after overcoming a 14-man England 29-16 in their Six Nations clash at the Aviva Stadium on Saturday.

Freddie Steward was the English player to be given his marching orders seconds before half-time due to connecting with the head of Hugo Keenan.

That sending off came with the scores 10-6 in favour of Ireland and from that moment on the hosts did not look back, as Robbie Henshaw and Dan Sheehan’s second try were then added to late on by replacement hooker Rob Herring to seal the clean sweep.

England‘s only try came from Jamie George while Owen Farrell kicked 11 points, with Steve Borthwick’s charges finishing the Six Nations in fourth.

Yet a bruising Test match belonged to the hosts, with Ireland skipper Johnny Sexton moving clear of Ronan O’Gara as the competition’s all-time record points scorer with a penalty and three conversions to take his overall tally to 566 on his Six Nations swansong before retirement later this year.

Defending champions France had snatched top spot in the standings earlier in the day courtesy of a 41-28 bonus-point victory over Wales to pile the pressure on Ireland.

England, meanwhile, crossed the Irish Sea wounded by last weekend’s record-breaking humiliation at the hands of the French, which emphatically extinguished their title hopes.  They delivered on their vow to come out fighting.

In-form Ireland were never going to have everything their own way and the scrappy opening exchanges were punctuated with errors and turnovers as both sides sought a foothold amid a series of kicking exchanges.

A pair of early Farrell penalties heightened a palpable nervous tension in the air, before Sexton halved England’s lead with his milestone kick just before the midway point.

Ireland orchestrated some decent pressure in enemy territory but initially struggled to slip into their free-flowing rhythm or gain control against dogged opposition showing no signs of rolling over.

The hosts eventually put a meaningful dent on the scoreboard seven minutes before the break when a well-executed line-out move allowed Josh van der Flier to send Sheehan rampaging for the line to spark the crowd.

England lost Charlie Ewels to a red card inside 82 seconds of last year’s 32-15 Twickenham defeat to the Irish.  And they were left facing a similarly uphill task 12 months on as they went into the break 10-6 and a man down after referee Jaco Peyper dismissed Steward for a robust challenge which forced off rival full-back Keenan.

Galvanised by the red card, the hosts reduced the deficit to a single point through another Farrell kick in the second period, with their penalty wins now being celebrated more fervently and the high stakes sparking a couple of flashpoints.

✅ 1948
✅ 2009
✅ 2018
✅ 2023

☘️ It's a fourth Grand Slam success for Ireland. #GuinnessSixNations pic.twitter.com/sYSNQkhn7z

— Planet Rugby (@PlanetRugby) March 18, 2023

Ireland desperately needed to stretch the scoreboard to capitalise on their numerical advantage and kill off any chance of being forced to face an anxious closing period.

Henshaw alleviated the mounting tension by crossing in the 62nd minute on his first start of this year’s competition, before Sheehan claimed his second score shortly after.

George bulldozed over seven minutes from time as England continued to plug away for pride.

But Borthwick’s men finished the match with just 13 men as flanker Jack Willis was sin-binned late on, before replacement Ireland hooker Herring stretched for the line to complete the scoring.  A deafening roar greeted the full-time whistle.

Ireland shake off 14-man England to keep title dreams alive

Ireland kept their Six Nations title hopes alive after they managed to avoid a shock defeat to a 14-man England, winning 32-15 at Twickenham.

A red card for England second-row Charlie Ewels with just over a minute played handed the hosts a monumental task of overcoming Andy Farrell’s men.

But the Red Rose showed real spirit to stay in touch for the majority of the contest before late scores for Ireland sealed the result and also a bonus-point.

The scrum emerged as England’s greatest weapon, producing six penalties on a traumatising afternoon for the Irish set-piece and enabling Marcus Smith to keep his side in contention from the kicking tee.

Even with wing Jack Nowell packing down in the back row they were utterly dominant and the visitors suffered terribly through their indiscipline across all areas as referee Mathieu Raynal penalised them freely.

The home resistance was led by Maro Itoje and Ellis Genge amid an inspired performance from the pack, but eventually the pressure told as Jack Conan crossed in the 72nd minute before Finlay Bealham gave the scoreline a lop-sided look that was harsh on England.

It means Ireland remain in title contention on the final weekend while England must discover how much they have left in the tank as they head to France with the aim of finishing third.

An action-packed first half unfolded at lightning pace and produced brutal collisions to the extent that neither James Ryan, Tom Curry nor Kyle Sinckler made it to the interval.

But there were also moments of artistry and the first of these arrived in the sixth minute when an undermanned England blindside was expertly exploited by Josh van der Flier and Dan Sheehan, with the pace of James Lowe doing the rest.

A second Ireland try was chalked off because of a knock-on and even as England celebrated winning a scrum penalty close to their line, their joy quickly turned to despair as Curry injured his hamstring while running.

Alex Dombrandt had been limited to one training session all week due to Covid but he now found himself in the back row that was swimming against the tide.

Ireland were pummelled at the scrum once more, however, and this time the penalty was in Smith’s range so the fly-half duly obliged to get his side off the mark.

Until Jamie George knocked on at the back of a dangerously-positioned maul, the home side had defied the odds to seize control with their pack making an impact in all departments.

A thrilling raid by Ireland ended with a third scrum penalty and they just could not escape Raynal’s whistle as Smith found the target once more.

But when given the opportunity to accelerate the tempo they were irrepressible and even in the face of heroic home defence, a second try was added as Jamison Gibson-Park took a quick tap and sent Hugo Keenan over.

The first half finished with Smith splitting the posts and the second began with the rivals trading blows in attack, Sam Simmonds flattening Tadhg Furlong one highlight.

Smith kicked another three points as England continued to win key moments, but the most profitable platform remained the scrum and when Raynal raised his hand for the sixth time Harlequins’ fly-half levelled the score.

Johnny Sexton nudged Ireland back in front, however, and as pressure built again on the home line, Conan was able to stride through a big gap before Bealham secured the bonus point.

Brilliant Ireland dominate England to end on a high

Ireland produced a wonderful performance on CJ Stander’s international farewell to finish their Six Nations campaign with a superb 32-18 triumph over England.

The highlight of Ireland’s most impressive outing since Andy Farrell took charge after the 2019 World Cup was Jack Conan’s try that concluded 23 phases of highly polished play.

It was a mesmerising score directed by the brilliant Johnny Sexton, but Keith Earls’ opener was almost as accomplished as England were picked apart by a smart line-out move.

The team leading at half-time have gone on to win in the last 27 meetings between the rivals and with Ireland 20-6 ahead at the interval, it looked bleak for the fallen champions.

For the last 16 minutes Ireland played with 14 men after Bundee Aki was shown a red card for a dangerous tackle on Billy Vunipola, but the centre’s departure made no difference as the retiring Stander was given a triumphant send-off.

As for the visitors, a week after appearing to signal the end of a shaky period by dispatching France, they failed to fire a shot against opponents they had beaten four times in a row.

Combined with defeats by Scotland and Wales, it equals their worst Six Nations performance from 2018, when they also lost three games and finished fifth under the guidance of Eddie Jones.  In 2005 and 2006 they lost three times and finished fourth.

Sexton was at the heart of Ireland’s riotous display and amassed 22 points from the kicking tee, comprehensively overshadowing George Ford in one of several Lions duels fought out in Dublin.

Ford will be among a number of England players to see their Lions aspirations harmed, albeit he was playing behind an outmuscled pack, while the prospects of their rivals in green shirts have soared.

And Jones’ position now faces renewed scrutiny with the team in full reverse 18 months after reaching the World Cup final.

England suffered a setback shortly before kick-off by losing Max Malins to injury, with the resulting reshuffle seeing Ollie Lawrence slot in at outside centre and Elliot Daly switch back to full-back.

Daly’s first involvement was to kick the ball out on the full but the error failed to deter his team, whose control of the breakdown and line-out offered crucial early footholds.

Farrell and Sexton exchanged penalties before a Ford spiral bomb was misjudged by Conor Murray, but fortunately for the scrum-half Aki was present to intervene.

Searching for their 50th win in the fixture, Ireland engineered the first try when a line-out move saw number eight Conan flick the ball to Earls who sprinted clear and rounded a wrong-footed Jonny May to score.

For the seventh consecutive Test England had conceded the first try and their problems escalated as Kyle Sinckler complained at being poked in the eye by Iain Henderson before his front-row colleague Mako Vunipola conceded a second scrum penalty.

☘️ Keith Earls is still up there with the VERY BEST.

Beautiful try from the veteran @IrishRugby winger.#GuinnessSixNations #IREvENG pic.twitter.com/zOVBD6U7lW

— Guinness Six Nations (@SixNationsRugby) March 20, 2021

It was that infringement that provided the platform for Ireland to strike again through a cleverly engineered try that saw Hugo Keenan beat Daly to a high ball before play swung left, where the impressive Conan pounced from short range.

Sexton was heavily involved throughout a sweeping move of startling accuracy and in further evidence of the damage being done to England, Mako Vunipola and Luke Cowan-Dickie were replaced by Ellis Genge and Jamie George at half-time.

The penalties were accumulating for Jones’ team and although Earls had a second try ruled out for an earlier knock-on, Sexton landed three points as the lead became 23-6.

Billy Vunipola was stripped of the ball in the tackle and Farrell disappeared for an HIA.  The misery compounded when Sexton booted his fourth penalty.

Aki was sent off for a high tackle on Vunipola that ended the number eight’s afternoon and England were smart with the penalty, a line-out drive enabling George to peel off and send Ben Youngs darting over.

But Sexton rifled over two more penalties to snuff out the fightback, with May crossing late on with the result already settled.

Check out the video highlights from Ireland's 32-18 victory over England in Dublin on Saturday.

Dominant England end Ireland's Grand Slam dream

England kept their Six Nations hopes alive and ended Ireland's chances of claiming a Grand Slam after a convincing 24-12 triumph at Twickenham on Sunday.

Tries from George Ford, Elliot Daly and Luke Cowan-Dickie secured a comfortable win over the Irish, who touched down twice via Robbie Henshaw and Andrew Porter.

There were shades of the knockout phase romps against Australia and New Zealand as Eddie Jones' men ended the Irish Grand Slam march in destructive fashion, leaving France as the Six Nations' only unbeaten team.

From start to finish they tore into their opponents, who never recovered from an early onslaught and whose fingers found the self-destruct button with alarming frequency.

Ford and Daly poached tries that propelled title-chasing England out of sight after 25 minutes, both of them profiting from blunders by Johnny Sexton and Jacob Stockdale behind the whitewash.

By the end of the first half Ireland had spent only 31 seconds in the enemy 22 and, although they eventually became a more cohesive attacking force, they never looked remotely capable of overcoming a 17-0 interval deficit.

Cowan-Dickie crossed for the third try and Owen Farrell kicked three conversions and a penalty as England's mastery of the Irish was extended to a third successive rout.

Ireland's failings were collective but at the heart of their collapse was Sexton, who never recovered from an awful start and butchered five easy points from the kicking tee at important moments.

It was not the return to Twickenham hoped for by Andy Farrell and this day belonged to his son Owen, who cut a composed figure as he drove England onwards to a triumph that relieves pressure on the Jones regime.

Daly and the unstoppable Manu Tuilagi were influential in a promising start but a poor pass from Ben Youngs found Courtney Lawes' head instead of his hands as England moved to within inches of the line.

Youngs made amends by firing a smart grubber that led to the opening try but Sexton, who was under pressure from Farrell and deceived by a cruel bounce, was also to blame as he failed to gather the ball as it bobbled over the whitewash to allow Ford to touch down.

The opening quarter deteriorated further for Sexton as he produced two poor kicks in a row before hooking a shot at goal horribly wide.

Aided by Ireland's refusal to contest line-outs, England resumed their advance downfield with Tuilagi's power across the gainline helping them on to the front foot.

Déjà vu for @EnglandRugby...#ENGvIRE #GuinnessSixNations pic.twitter.com/z4ZES1WvTC

— Guinness Six Nations (@SixNationsRugby) February 23, 2020

Daly was revelling in his return to full-back for the first time since the World Cup final and it was the Saracen who plundered the second try as Stockdale inexplicably dithered over Ford's cute kick, offering the score on a plate.

The first half unfolded against the backdrop of Farrell's constant dialogue with referee Jaco Peyper as Ireland were repeatedly bullied in contact, with man-of-the-match Lawes their chief agitator.

At times England's attack was overly frantic and too reliant on kicking, but with the white shirts winning just about every collision and then defending ferociously they could afford moments of inaccuracy.

The first half finished with a pumped-up Kyle Sinckler being escorted off the pitch after the Harlequins prop had given Ireland a tongue lashing at another breakdown dominated by a pack that had their feet on opposition throats.

Ireland emerged from the interval with their purpose restored and their urgency was evident as CJ Stander hammered his palm into Farrell's stomach in an attempt to make the centre let go of his leg.

Henshaw barged over from close range to round off a spell of Irish ascendancy but, as Sexton yanked the conversion and England resumed their offensive, a comeback appeared unlikely.

A line-out drive ended with Cowan-Dickie emerging with the ball and, although Ireland had the final say with a stoppage time try by Porter, it failed to distract from a heavy defeat.

The scorers:

For England:
Tries:  Ford, Daly, Cowan-Dickie
Cons:  Farrell 3
Pen:  Farrell

For Ireland:
Tries:  Henshaw, Porter
Con:  Cooney

England:  15 Elliot Daly, 14 Jonny May, 13 Manu Tuilagi, 12 Owen Farrell (c), 11 Jonathan Joseph, 10 George Ford, 9 Ben Youngs, 8 Tom Curry, 7 Sam Underhill, 6 Courtney Lawes, 5 George Kruis, 4 Maro Itoje, 3 Kyle Sinckler, 2 Jamie George, 1 Joe Marler
Replacements:  16 Luke Cowan-Dickie, 17 Ellis Genge, 18 Will Stuart, 19 Joe Launchbury, 20 Charlie Ewels, 21 Ben Earl, 22 Willi Heinz, 23 Henry Slade

Ireland:  15 Jordan Larmour, 14 Andrew Conway, 13 Robbie Henshaw, 12 Bundee Aki, 11 Jacob Stockdale, 10 Jonathan Sexton (c), 9 Conor Murray, 8 CJ Stander, 7 Josh van der Flier, 6 Peter O’Mahony, 5 James Ryan, 4 Devin Toner, 3 Tadhg Furlong, 2 Rob Herring, 1 Cian Healy
Replacements:  16 Ronan Kelleher, 17 Dave Kilcoyne, 18 Andrew Porter, 19 Ultan Dillane, 20 Caelan Doris, 21 John Cooney, 22 Ross Byrne, 23 Keith Earls

Referee:  Jaco Peyper (South Africa)
Assistant referees:  Romain Poite (France), Alexandre Ruiz (France)
TMO:  Marius Jonker (South Africa)

Check out the highlights from England's 24-12 victory over Ireland at Twickenham on Sunday.

Superb England stun Ireland in Dublin

England made a brilliant start to their 2019 Six Nations campaign courtesy of a 32-20 bonus-point win over defending champions Ireland in Dublin on Saturday.

As expected, this was a spellbinding and uncompromising encounter characterised by great physicality from both sides.

The collisions were brutal but, in the end, England got the rub of the green and outscored their hosts by four tries to two with Henry Slade leading the way with a deserved brace.

The result is a significant one for England as it is their first triumph over Ireland in Dublin since 2013 and ends a six-match winning run for Ireland in the Six Nations which stretches back to March 2017.

England made a terrific start and two minutes into the match Jonny May rounded off superbly in the left-hand corner.  This, after Manu Tuilagi played a prominent role in the build-up with two strong carries before the ball was recycled quickly and Owen Farrell delivered an inch-perfect long pass to Elliot Daly, who did well to offload to May before he dotted down.

Farrell held his nerve to slot the conversion from close to the touchline but Ireland reduced the deficit in the 11th minute courtesy of a Johnny Sexton penalty after a Kyle Sinckler infringement at a ruck.

One minute later, England suffered a setback when they were reduced to 14 men – Tom Curry sent to the sin-bin for a late tackle on Keith Earls.  And although Ireland held the upper-hand during Curry’s stint on the sidelines, England’s defence held firm and they did well to prevent the home side from scoring points during that period.

But despite that, Ireland did not panic and shortly after Curry returned to the fray Cian Healy spotted a gap at a ruck and barged over from close quarters to register his side’s first try.

Sexton’s conversion gave them a 10-7 lead but that did not last long as three minutes later, an error from Jacob Stockdale was pounced on by Daly, who scored England’s second try.

Stockdale did well initially, when he fielded a grubber kick from Daly close to his try-line, but he lost possession after Jack Nowell put pressure on him with a solid tackle.  The ball spilled over backwards behind Ireland’s tryline and Daly was first to react by diving on the ball.

Farrell added the extras which gave the visitors a 14-10 lead and he slotted a penalty just before half-time when Ireland strayed offside in the build-up to a disallowed try from Mako Vunipola.

The ruthless nature of this match continued in the second half, although both sides were initially more measured in their approach.  And we had to wait until the 55th minute for the opening points of the half which came via a Sexton penalty after an illegal tackle from Sinckler.

On the hour-mark, Farrell had a chance to restore his side’s seven-point lead – after Sexton played the ball on the ground – but his effort was wide of the mark.

That did not prove costly, however, as five minutes later May found himself in space down the left-hand touchline inside Ireland’s half before booting the ball ahead.  He was taken out after his kick but Henry Slade gave chase and outsprinted the cover defence before diving on the ball behind Ireland’s tryline.

That score meant Ireland were under the cosh and in an effort to get back into the game they committed numerous unforced errors.

Farrell added another penalty in the 70th minute which gave his side a 25-13 lead before Slade intercepted a pass from Sexton, deep inside Ireland’s half, and scored his second and his side’s fourth try.

That sealed the result, although Ireland did not surrender, and just before full-time John Cooney crossed for a consolation try.

The scorers:

For Ireland:
Try:  Healy, Cooney
Cons:  Sexton 2
Pens:  Sexton 2

For England:
Tries:  May, Daly, Slade 2
Cons:  Farrell 3
Pens:  Farrell 2
Yellow Card:  Curry

Ireland:  15 Robbie Henshaw, 14 Keith Earls, 13 Garry Ringrose, 12 Bundee Aki, 11 Jacob Stockdale, 10 Johnny Sexton, 9 Conor Murray, 8 CJ Stander, 7 Josh van der Flier, 6 Peter O’Mahony, 5 James Ryan, 4 Devin Toner, 3 Tadhg Furlong, 2 Rory Best (c), 1 Cian Healy
Replacements:  16 Sean Cronin, 17 Dave Kilcoyne, 18 Andrew Porter, 19 Quinn Roux, 20 Sean O’Brien, 21 John Cooney, 22 Joey Carbery, 23 Jordan Larmour

England:  15 Elliot Daly, 14 Jack Nowell, 13 Henry Slade, 12 Manu Tuilagi, 11 Jonny May, 10 Owen Farrell (c), 9 Ben Youngs, 8 Billy Vunipola, 7 Tom Curry, 6 Mark Wilson, 5 George Kruis, 4 Maro Itoje, 3 Kyle Sinckler, 2 Jamie George, 1 Mako Vunipola
Replacements:  16 Luke Cowan-Dickie, 17 Ellis Genge, 18 Harry Williams, 19 Courtney Lawes, 20 Nathan Hughes, 21 Dan Robson, 22 George Ford, 23 Chris Ashton

Referee:  Jérôme Garcès (France)
Assistant Referees:  Romain Poite (France), Federico Anselmi (Argentina)
TMO:  Glenn Newman (New Zealand)

Ireland win third Grand Slam following dominant victory

Ireland saved their best performance until the final round as they won the Grand Slam after comfortably defeating England 24-15 at Twickenham.

Joe Schmidt’s men were excellent throughout but the first half set up the victory with Garry Ringrose, CJ Stander and Jacob Stockdale all crossing the whitewash.

Elliot Daly responded for the Red Rose but they were outplayed as the visitors went into the break 21-5 in front.

Eddie Jones’ outfit did pressure the opposition at the start of the second 40 minutes but the Emerald Isle were resolute and Conor Murray extended their buffer from the tee.

Daly touched down for his second and Jonny May also went over as England regained a semblance of pride but, on St. Patrick’s Day, Ireland deservedly emerged with the Triple Crown and Grand Slam.

It was a typically controlled performance from the visitors and the opening to the game set the tone with the champions maintaining possession and forcing England into errors.

Ill-discipline was once again an issue for the hosts and Schmidt’s men capitalised with Ringrose scoring first after Johnny Sexton’s ‘up and under’ caused havoc.  There appeared to be a knock-on by Rob Kearney in the process but, after consultation with the television match official, the try was awarded and they had a deserved 7-0 advantage.

England were struggling to gain front foot ball and, as a result, Ireland dominated territory and duly created a superbly worked effort.

Excellent hands from Tadhg Furlong sent Bundee Aki clear and the centre passed inside to the supporting number eight Stander, who touched down at the base of the post.

It was that clinical edge which was to prove the difference as the home side finally begun to put some pressure on their opponents.  Ireland started to consistently infringe and it eventually led to a yellow card for Peter O’Mahony after a maul was collapsed illegally.

They initially struggled to create opportunities, however, with the away team defending superbly, but their efforts were eventually rewarded when Owen Farrell’s grubber through was pounced on by Daly.

The Emerald Isle could have panicked but they simply regrouped and arguably scored the game-defining try.  Instead of kicking the ball out with the clock in the red, they backed their skills and Stockdale produced a brilliant piece of play to chip ahead and touch down.

With Joey Carbery’s conversion, the visitors were halfway towards the Grand Slam and it was a lead they would hold in the third quarter.

Despite plenty of England possession, Ireland’s rearguard was once again outstanding and they prevented the hosts from getting back into the contest.

Instead, with their first significant attack of the half the visitors earned a three-point opportunity, which Murray converted for a 19-point buffer.

Jones’ men did get a couple back via Daly and May but it was Ireland’s day and Ireland’s championship as they completed a superb triumph to win a third Grand Slam.

The scorers:

For England:
Tries:  Daly 2, May

For Ireland:
Tries:  Ringrose, Stander, Stockdale
Cons:  Sexton 2, Carbery
Pen:  Murray
Yellow Card:  O’Mahony

England:  15 Anthony Watson, 14 Jonny May, 13 Jonathan Joseph, 12 Ben Te’o, 11 Elliot Daly, 10 Owen Farrell, 9 Richard Wigglesworth, 8 Sam Simmonds, 7 James Haskell, 6 Chris Robshaw, 5 George Kruis, 4 Maro Itoje, 3 Kyle Sinckler, 2 Dylan Hartley (c), 1 Mako Vunipola
Replacements:  16 Jamie George, 17 Joe Marler, 18 Dan Cole, 19 Joe Launchbury, 20 Don Armand, 21 Danny Care, 22 George Ford, 23 Mike Brown

Ireland:  15 Rob Kearney, 14 Keith Earls, 13 Garry Ringrose, 12 Bundee Aki, 11 Jacob Stockdale, 10 Johnny Sexton, 9 Conor Murray, 8 CJ Stander, 7 Dan Leavy, 6 Peter O’Mahony, 5 Iain Henderson, 4 James Ryan, 3 Tadhg Furlong, 2 Rory Best (c), 1 Cian Healy
Replacements:  16 Sean Cronin, 17 Jack McGrath, 18 Andrew Porter, 19 Devin Toner, 20 Jordi Murphy, 21 Kieran Marmion, 22 Joey Carbery, 23 Jordan Larmour

Referee:  Angus Gardner (Australia)
Assistant referees:  Jaco Peyper (South Africa), Nigel Owens (Wales)
TMO:  Ben Skeen (New Zealand)

Ireland end England Slam hopes

England were denied successive Six Nations Grand Slams on Saturday as Ireland claimed a hard-fought 13-9 victory in Dublin.

Only one try was scored in the game and it went the way of Irish lock Iain Henderson, as the hosts held on for a morale-boosting success.

The result sees England's run of wins end on 18 as Ireland bounced back from last week's loss to Wales with a hugely spirited showing.

All of England's points came via the boot of Owen Farrell and in truth they were massively under-par against an Ireland side full of fight.

Ireland were always going to be much-improved from last Friday's defeat in Cardiff, especially in front of their fans, and they did not disappoint early on.

Johnny Sexton struck on 10 minutes after side entry from England at the ruck and they were well worth their early advantage.

Farrell did level matters eight minutes later due to Ireland not rolling away and the game was fascinatingly poised even at an early stage.

Ireland, who had lost the influential Jamie Heaslip to injury before kick-off, had to reshuffle their squad as CJ Stander moved to number eight with Peter O'Mahony coming off the bench to start on the blindside flank.  The tweaks did not fluster them though as they were on top.

Further reason to smile came in the 24th minute when lock Henderson reached out for a try which Sexton converted to make it a 10-3 cushion.  And that was the scoreline at the break after a first 40 that Ireland dominated, enjoying 74 percent possession and 77 percent territory.

Eddie Jones was clearly upset with his side's showing and duly made a change up front as Mako Vunipola replaced Joe Marler at prop.

A stern talking to seemed to improve their fortunes as Farrell reduced the score to 10-6 on 52 minutes and they appeared to be turning the screw in the tight exchanges.

Three minutes later Jamie George was the next to emerge, replacing captain Dylan Hartley for the run-in.

However, Jones' next changes were somewhat a knee-jerk reaction to Sexton sending over a crucial penalty from a tough angle after Farrell had tackled him high.

That made it 13-6 so Ireland had pushed England out to two scores from claiming that Grand Slam with 17 minutes left.

Farrell cut the margin four minutes later off the tee after strong mauling work from his forwards saw Ireland enter from the side, and thus we had the grandstand finish back on in Dublin at 13-9.

England though, importantly for Ireland, had yet to breach the whitewash in the match.

That pyschological fact seemed to get the Irish over the finish line with their noses in front as they held on for victory that sees them finish in second place, while England, upset to miss the Slam, must settle with the Six Nations title.

The scorers:

For Ireland:
Try:  Henderson
Con:  Sexton
Pens:  Sexton 2

For England:
Pens:  Farrell 3

Ireland:  15 Jared Payne, 14 Keith Earls, 13 Garry Ringrose, 12 Robbie Henshaw, 11 Simon Zebo, 10 Johnny Sexton, 9 Kieran Marmion, 8 CJ Stander, 7 Sean O'Brien, 6 Peter O'Mahony, 5 Iain Henderson, 4 Donnacha Ryan, 3 Tadgh Furlong, 2 Rory Best (c), 1 Jack McGrath
Replacements:  16 Niall Scannell, 17 Cian Healy, 18 John Ryan, 19 Devin Toner, 20 Dan Leavy, 21 Luke McGrath, 22 Paddy Jackson, 23 Andrew Conway

England:  15 Mike Brown, 14 Anthony Watson, 13 Jonathan Joseph, 12 Owen Farrell, 11 Elliot Daly, 10 George Ford, 9 Ben Youngs, 8 Billy Vunipola, 7 James Haskell, 6 Maro Itoje, 5 Courtney Lawes, 4 Joe Launchbury, 3 Dan Cole, 2 Dylan Hartley (c), 1 Joe Marler
Replacements:  16 Jamie George, 17 Mako Vunipola, 18 Kyle Sinckler, 19 Tom Wood, 20 Nathan Hughes, 21 Danny Care, 22 Ben Te'o, 23 Jack Nowell

Referee:  Jérôme Garcès (France)
Assistant Referees:  Mathieu Raynal (France), Marius Mitrea (Italy)
TMO:  Ben Skeen (New Zealand)

England stay on track with Ireland win

England made it three wins out of three in the Six Nations after coming out on top of their tussle with Ireland at Twickenham with a 21-10 victory.

Two quick tries from Anthony Watson and Mike Brown turned the game in England's favour after Conor Murray had put Ireland ahead following a low-scoring first half.

Prior to that England had failed to convert long periods of pressure into points and looked on the brink of paying for that neglect.  But their composure shone through, cancelling out the threat of an Irish revival, despite England's physicality sometimes crossing the line and them requiring more than one case of last-ditch defending.

Two yellow cards and a hatful of penalties will also have frustrated Eddie Jones, but he was unsurprisingly all smiles come the final whistle after winning his first home game in charge of his adopted country.  His side did however leave points out on the field.

England's 21-10 lead came under real pressure from Ireland in the final quarter but the visitors couldn't find a breakthrough, as the defending champions' title bid slipped away.

Too often Ireland laboured at the lineout and their handling lacked the usual polish.  Despite that Joe Schmidt will have been pleased with an exuberant debut from centre Stuart McCloskey with his collection of impressive carries, along with the good work of two other new caps in Josh van der Flier and Ultan Dillane.

Steve Hansen, the All Blacks head coach watching on in the stands, realistically however won't have been shuffling in his seat after what he saw on the flight back to New Zealand by what he saw from either side.

Jonathan Sexton struck first, turning a penalty win for Ireland at the scrum into a 3-0 lead from 40 metres out, Farrell's response coming not long after to level the scores — redemption after he had been penalised for a neck roll.

Indiscipline was becoming a problem for England — coughing up field position in Irish territory, on another occasion allowing them to kick to the corner — so it came against the run of play when Robbie Henshaw was penalised for obstruction well within Farrell's range.  Farrell though couldn't make him pay, his effort grazing the right post.

Ireland's breakdown work helped them clear their lines but they were struggling to contain the runs of Billy Vunipola.  One blindside break from the number eight took multiple tacklers to bundle him into touch short of the line.

With all of the momentum England's captain Dylan Hartley thought he had done enough to cross the line under the posts, only to be denied by the TMO for double movement.

Having nothing to show from such a long passage in Ireland's 22 would have been unacceptable but England had to take that on the chin, potential try-scoring chances wiped out by the odd loose pass or rash decision.

Frankly, the skills levels were poor.  At the same time Ireland's defence deserved huge credit for weathering the storm.

Smart defence was followed by a clueless attack which set Devin Toner up to be turned over — Farrell's resulting penalty moving England ahead for the first time at 6-3.

Ireland's need for some kind of spark was answered by Henshaw, an angling run promising more than it delivered ahead of half-time.

Boldly the visitors opted against letting Sexton attempt a kickable penalty after the break, initially failing to convert after going to the corner.

Back they came however after James Haskell's yellow card for a high tackle on Murray, with the Irish scrum-half then darting under the attempted cover tackle of Joe Marler to score.  Ireland's gutsy call had paid off, Sexton converting for a 10-6 lead.

Farrell chipped back following an obstruction penalty on Toner to cut the gap to a point, and with handling errors stopping Ireland at source, England finally capitalised.

Jack Nowell's break up the right touchline had the defence back-tracking before an Irish arm colliding with a pass looked to have ended the attack.  The ball instead favourably bounced for Chris Robshaw, whose looping pass found a waiting Anthony Watson ready to finish in the corner.

England's second try wasn't far behind as Farrell's pass gave Mike Brown enough space to race over, two scores in four minutes, as the game threatened to get away from Ireland.

Another Henshaw break silenced that prospect, with only a superb try-saving tackle from Nowell dislodging the ball as the Irish centre dove for the line, preventing a certain score.

Ireland threatened again after a one-two pass from two of the debutants, Van der Flier and Dillane, was illegally stopped short of the line.

What followed was bizarre — with Romain Poite first showing a yellow card to Brown for what looked like reckless use of the boot on Murray, ruled accidental, before consulting with his assistants and instead sin-binning Danny Care for not rolling away.

Van der Flier's impressive second-half continued when he was held up over the line by new England cap Elliot Daly, as Ireland prowled the whitewash, only for a penalty win at the scrum by Dan Cole easing the hosts' nerves and ultimately confirming their third win of the tournament.

Man of the Match:  Once again the carrying of Billy Vunipola was pivotal for England, constantly luring in Irish defenders before throwing them off his sizeable frame.

Moment of the Match:  England could have wondered if this would be their day as another attack threatened to stall, but Anthony Watson's try put them on track.

Villain of the Match:  Despite being ruled accidental by the officials Mike Brown should expect a citing for some loose footwork on Conor Murray.

The scorers:

For England:
Tries:  Watson, Brown
Cons:  Farrell
Pens:  Farrell 3
Yellow Cards:  Haskell, Care

For Ireland:
Tries:  Murray
Cons:  Sexton
Pens:  Sexton

England:  15 Mike Brown, 14 Jack Nowell, 13 Jonathan Joseph, 12 Owen Farrell, 11 Anthony Watson, 10 George Ford, 9 Ben Youngs, 8 Billy Vunipola, 7 James Haskell, 6 Chris Robshaw, 5 George Kruis, 4 Maro Itoje, 3 Dan Cole, 2 Dylan Hartley (c), 1 Joe Marler
Replacements:  16 Jamie George, 17 Mako Vunipola, 18 Paul Hill, 19 Courtney Lawes, 20 Jack Clifford, 21 Danny Care, 22 Elliot Daly, 23 Alex Goode

Ireland:  15 Rob Kearney, 14 Andrew Trimble, 13 Robbie Henshaw, 12 Stuart McCloskey, 11 Keith Earls, 10 Jonathan Sexton, 9 Conor Murray, 8 Jamie Heaslip, 7 Josh van der Flier, 6 CJ Stander, 5 Devin Toner, 4 Donnacha Ryan, 3 Mike Ross, 2 Rory Best, 1 Jack McGrath
Replacements:  16 Richardt Strauss, 17 Cian Healy, 18 Nathan White, 19 Ultan Dillane, 20 Rhys Ruddock, 21 Eoin Reddan, 22 Ian Madigan, 23 Simon Zebo

Referee:  Romain Poite (France)
Assistant Referees:  Nigel Owens (Wales), Alexandre Ruiz (France)
TMO:  Shaun Veldsman (South Africa)

Sexton shines as Ireland beat England

Another commanding performance from Johnny Sexton sent Ireland on their way to a 19-9 victory over England in a physical battle in Dublin.

Ireland were smarter, better disciplined and more clinical throughout than their opponents.  Even the scrum, touted as their area of weakness, surpassed expectations as England took too long to get going.

This wasn't the humbling of Cardiff two years ago for England but it certainly was an education for the likes of George Ford and Anthony Watson, talented youngsters who will go far but learnt the hard way this time out with Ireland giving them no time or space.

It was a breakdown and tactical kicking clinic from Ireland, espeically with the way they disrupted England's ball at the ruck.  Sexton's all-round play, not just his work off the boot, was really of the highest order.  His loss to an apparent hamstring injury after 50 minutes will cause some concern ahead of visiting Wales.

England's relative inexperience hadn't been a factor before Dublin but it showed here, particularly up against the studied approach that Ireland brought to the table.  The hosts were by far and away the better side with their visitors showing too many nerves, but Ireland only led by six at the break.  There was to be no comeback.

Ireland will now have their thoughts on a Grand Slam although the road will not be an easy one, travelling first to Wales, confident again after winning in Paris, before rounding up in Italy.

Dublin had provided all those heading to the Aviva Stadium with an apocalyptic weather warning, yet by kickoff the rain, sleet and snow was thankfully gone.

England's start was awful, while Ireland were perfectly precise with their tactical kicking as expected.  An early nudge from Sexton and his super kick into the corner left Jack Nowell and Alex Goode cleaning up a real mess.

Two scrums five metres out were field position that Ireland had to captalise on, but despite the huge carries from Sean O'Brien and Rory Best they settled for a second penalty and a 6-0 lead after as many minutes.

All the possesion was with Ireland, 95 percent of it to be exact after the first ten minutes.  When England eventually got their hands on the ball they did threaten.  Jack Nowell's touchline chip set up good field position and after multiple phases Ford slotted a drop goal with a fine strike to put England on the board.

The Bath fly-half couldn't land a penalty from the halfway line after Jordi Murphy failed to roll away, the ball drifting left past the post, as Ireland persisted with putting the boot to ball.

Ireland won the first big gamble of the match when Devin Toner poached an English lineout five metres from the line, Chris Robshaw turning down three points England arguably weren't in a position to miss out on.

The hosts saw the best of O'Brien with his thundering carry but it was sadly to be his last act, stumbling punch-drunk around the field afterwards before being taken off with concussion.

Vunipola's breakdown penalty saved England's bacon but Sexton was excellent shortly afterwards at isolating Luther Burrell, the Racing Métro number ten adding his third penalty of the half to put Ireland up by six.

Sexton's thumping tackle on Ford marked another point to the Irishman but worse for England was Anthony Watson playing the ball from an offside position, presenting Sexton with his fourth penalty opportunity which he surprisingly couldn't convert.  That felt like the tale of the end of the first half, Ireland clearly on top but not punishing England any further as the score stood at 9-3 at half-time.

Only greater discipline and accuracy would get England back into the contest but it was Goode's brilliant escape work that avoided any further damage on the scoreboard, running the ball out from behind his own posts with a real touch of class.

Ireland capitalised on their visitors' indiscipline yet again with Sexton refinding his range, turning away in satisfaction long before the ball had passed through the posts.  In such a close contest, nine points felt like too big a gap for England to close.

Unsurprisingly Ireland's try came from a chip kick by Murray, Robbie Henshaw working hard to rise above Goode and doing well to ground the ball so close to the touchline.  No way back for England from 19-3 down, surely.

Ford added a second penalty as England's scrum started to motor but they would need more than that, Vunipola trying his best to inspire with a long charge upfield unfortunately without any support.

Cian Healy's introduction was warmly received and he instantly did a job at the breakdown along with birthday boy Marty Moore to snuff out James Haskell's carry, limiting England's possession and territory.

Ford's tough afternoon could have been a lot worse had his loose pass been intercepted but some rare multiple phases in Ireland's half ended with another three points for the visitors.

Enjoying more of the ball and with the freshness of their replacements England looked a different threat, in an almost copycat performance to the one produced by France two weeks ago.

Ireland's bodies suddenly looked weary but a big free-kick at the scrum five metres from their line provided some required relief as the clock wound down.  The forward pass to Nowell after he thought he had scored a consolation try summed up England's afternoon, with no call made for the TMO or any replays supplied to confirm the call.

Ireland's first 50 minutes with Sexton at the helm proved to be enough for a hard-earned victory.  With two rounds to go now, the champions are right in there with a chance to make it back-to-back titles.

Man of the Match:  Sexton may have been the difference but Robbie Henshaw was tirelessly effective for Ireland throughout, also scoring his first Test try.

Moment of the Match:  The fourth penalty from Sexton to make it 12-3 felt crucial as Ireland moved out of reach.

Villain of the Match:  Nothing nasty to report.

The scorers:

For Ireland:
Try:  Henshaw
Con:  Sexton
Pens:  Sexton 4

For England:
Pens:  Ford 2
Drop Goal:  Ford

Ireland:  15 Rob Kearney, 14 Tommy Bowe, 13 Jared Payne, 12 Robbie Henshaw, 11 Simon Zebo, 10 Jonathan Sexton, 9 Conor Murray, 8 Jordi Murphy, 7 Sean O'Brien, 6 Peter O'Mahony, 5 Paul O'Connell (c), 4 Devin Toner, 3 Mike Ross, 2 Rory Best, 1 Jack McGrath
Replacements:  16 Sean Cronin, 17 Cian Healy, 18 Martin Moore, 19 Iain Henderson, 20 Tommy O'Donnell, 21 Eoin Reddan, 22 Ian Madigan, 23 Felix Jones

England:  15 Alex Goode, 14 Anthony Watson, 13 Jonathan Joseph, 12 Luther Burrell, 11 Jack Nowell, 10 George Ford, 9 Ben Youngs, 8 Billy Vunipola, 7 Chris Robshaw (c), 6 James Haskell, 5 George Kruis, 4 Dave Attwood, 3 Dan Cole, 2 Dylan Hartley, 1 Joe Marler.
Replacements:  16 Tom Youngs, 17 Mako Vunipola, 18 Henry Thomas, 19 Nick Easter, 20 Tom Croft, 21 Richard Wigglesworth, 22 Danny Cipriani, 23 Billy Twelvetrees.

Referee:  Craig Joubert (South Africa)
Assistant Referees:  Jérôme Garcès (France), Mathieu Raynal (France)
TMO:  Deon von Blommestein

England crush Ireland's Slam dream

A cagey, physical confrontation between two title contenders ended with a 13-10 victory for England in an entertaining Test at Twickenham.

It Ireland arrived bursting with confidence but were more or less contained in the opening half, as England failed to capitalise on territory and possession.

Closer to a game of chess, the tension in both team's performances was impossible to ignore.  This was Ireland's first trip away from Dublin in the Joe Schmidt era and they met their match in the contests regarding aggression and skill.

For Ireland the dream of a second Grand Slam in five years is over.  England's title hopes are alive.  The hosts' young warriors — Joe Launchbury, Courtney Lawes, Jack Nowell — played beyond their years.

England's start was bright, showing composure and patience beyond the number of their caps as Mike Brown slipped out of Rory Best's tackle to put them on the front foot.

It should have ended in a score, yet didn't.  Jonny May, with Jack Nowell outside, knocked on thanks to a timely tackle from Andrew Trimble to hand Ireland an early reprieve.

England's early aggression was noteworthy but the penalties went Ireland's way, first at the scrum and then at the breakdown to end dominant England phases in the Irish half.

Ireland's attack though was in full flow when Jonathan Sexton wasn't under siege — sending a cross-field kick over into the bread basket of Andrew Trimble before England regathered to snuff out the threat.

Owen Farrell avoided further punishment for a late hit on Conor Murray than a penalty — the game entering the second quarter without any points but proving entertaining nonetheless.

When Courtney Lawes was taken out at the lineout Farrell landed England's first points with a 47-metre penalty.  Far from the finest of strikes, on the basis of the opening 25 minutes England probably deserved their lead.

And though they may have led on the scoreboard the game was poised on a knife-edge.  A second Farrell penalty would have let England breathe a little easier, only for the wind to swirl it onto the left post.

The loss of Billy Vunipola was a further blow to England's chances as Ireland searched for some continuity in their game, but the dominance shown against Wales had deserted them.  Too often fine pieces of play were cut short by minor errors.

A careless offside from Andrew Trimble saw Farrell pop the ball into the corner as England looked to make a statement before half-time.  It wasn't to be as Ireland forced the knock-on from Burrell, Sexton clearing to touch with England narrowly ahead 3-0 at the interval.

Ireland began the second period with the necessary bang.  Rob Kearney screamed through a gaping hole on an inside ball that left even Irish fans in the ground in disbelief, such was its simplicity.  A slip from England and the lead was all Ireland's now.

England momentarily were thrown.  Persistent penalties marched Ireland from their own 22 to deep into English territory, Sexton's astute chip forcing May and Brown into sixes and sevens.

It was a period of pure control reminiscent of the 80 minutes Ireland produced against Wales, and it ended with a score — Sexton's three-pointer stretching the lead to 3-10.

Score again and Ireland might have never looked back, but England now had the impetus.  Danny Care's high-risk philosophy worked for them in Paris and they added a second penalty from Farrell to cut the gap to four.

They then split Ireland open up the middle.  Brown's break on an inside ball from Chris Robshaw saw him fly into open space, having the composure and timing in his pass to release Care for a try made at Harlequins and sending England back ahead.

Equals more or less throughout, England's 13-10 lead heading into the final ten minutes never fully looked secure.

Ireland built phases and tried to twist and turn England's defence in search of an opening, but there simply wasn't one to exploit.  Joe Launchbury's tap tackle was a lifesaver — Jonny May's clearance made the whole of Twickenham erupt.

Naturally Ireland still had a chance, as Brian O'Driscoll limped from the field in his 139th record-equalling Test.  It wasn't to be, the Irish maul for brought to a shuddering halt as England came of age.

Man of the Match:  Care was influential but Mike Brown was truly exceptional for England, a running threat as ever and kicking brilliantly.

Moment of the Match:  England's try was enormous, coming right off the back of Farrell's penalty.

Villain of the Match:  Nothing nasty to report.

The scorers:

For England:
Try:  Care
Con:  Farrell
Pens:  Farrell 2

For Ireland:
Try:  R.Kearney
Con:  Sexton
Pen:  Sexton

For England:  15 Mike Brown, 14 Jack Nowell, 13 Luther Burrell, 12 Billy Twelvetrees, 11 Jonny May, 10 Owen Farrell, 9 Danny Care, 8 Billy Vunipola, 7 Chris Robshaw (c), 6 Tom Wood, 5 Courtney Lawes, 4 Joe Launchbury, 3 David Wilson, 2 Dylan Hartley, 1 Joe Marler
Replacements:  16 Tom Youngs, 17 Mako Vunipola, 18 Henry Thomas, 19 David Attwood, 20 Ben Morgan, 21 Lee Dickson, 22 George Ford, 23 Brad Barritt

For Ireland:  15 Rob Kearney, 14 Andrew Trimble, 13 Brian O'Driscoll, 12 Gordon D'Arcy, 11 Dave Kearney, 10 Jonathan Sexton, 9 Conor Murray, 8 Jamie Heaslip, 7 Chris Henry, 6 Peter O'Mahony, 5 Paul O'Connell (c), 4 Devin Toner, 3 Mike Ross, 2 Rory Best, 1 Cian Healy
Replacements:  16 Sean Cronin, 17 Jack McGrath, 18 Martin Moore, 19 Iain Henderson, 20 Jordi Murphy, 21 Issac Boss, 22 Paddy Jackson, 23 Fergus McFadden

Referee:  Craig Joubert (South Africa)
Assistant Referees Romain Poite (France), Leighton Hodges (Wales)
TMO:  Jim Yuille (Scotland)

Dublin triumph for England

England picked up an impressive 12-6 victory over Six Nations rivals Ireland on Sunday in an absorbing 80 minutes at the Aviva Stadium in Dublin.

Stuart Lancaster's outfit put in another mature effort that leaves them as the last remaining unbeaten side in the 2013 Championship.

No tries were scored in the spectacle but the English displayed an edge that denied Ireland, who had crossed for three tries against Wales, any real opportunity to get over the whitewash.

Owen Farrell kicked all of England's points, but it was their intelligence with and without the ball that ultimately won the game as Ireland struggled to get into the match, due in part to losing Simon Zebo and Jonathan Sexton to early injuries.

Farrell gave England an early lead with a second-minute penalty but Dublin tempers flared in the fourteenth minute when Ireland prop Cian Healy's apparent use of the boot on England tighthead Dan Cole at a ruck sparked a mass brawl.

Both packs managed to slow their opponents' ruck ball and neither side had a genuine chance of a try in the first-half of a match featuring several candidates for the Lions tour.

In such a tight contest, discipline was especially important, and Farrell punished Ireland for coming round the wrong side of a ruck with a superb penalty from nearly 50 metres out.

Ireland lost fly-half Sexton with a hamstring pull just after the half-hour mark, although the wet conditions put a premium on the kicking game for which Ronan O'Gara is renowned.

But when O'Gara, Ireland's most capped player, held on too long in the tackle, following good work by England defensive linchpin Brad Barritt, it gave Farrell a long-range penalty chance on the stroke of half-time.  However, his kick just went wide.

Early in the second period Ireland won a scrum penalty and O'Gara cut the deficit in half.

Coach Lancaster stiffened his side's physical presence by bringing on centre Manu Tuilagi for Billy Twelvetrees and Courtney Lawes for lock Joe Launchbury in the 48th minute.

England, though, were a man down in the 57th minute when blindside James Haskell, was yellow carded by French referee Jérôme Garces for kicking the ball out of a ruck.

O'Gara landed the ensuing penalty to tie the match at 6-6 heading into the final quarter.  Yet despite being reduced to fourteen, England then outscored Ireland 6-3 in the ten minutes.

Farrell's clever kick ahead set up an England line-out close to Ireland's line and then Tuilagi was just unable to get a touch for a try after a neat chip ahead by scrum-half Ben Youngs.

However, Garces had already awarded England a penalty from inside the 22 and Farrell made no mistake to nudge his side into a 9-6 lead.  And that became 12-6 when the composed Farrell landed his fourth penalty after Ireland infringed by not releasing.

Ireland then saw O'Gara miss an eminently kickable penalty from just outside the 22 and England's defence held firm for a result that puts them two points clear at the summit.

Man of the match:  While the official award went to captain Chris Robshaw, who was superb as a leader, we believe that Ben Youngs had a slightly better shift in Dublin.  He organised his pack well while his kicking for position was outstanding in difficult conditions.  Rarely does Danny Care not make it onto the field but today Youngs was not to be disturbed.

Moment of the match:  After Ronan O'Gara had kicked three points following England's James Haskell kicking the ball out from a ruck, the visitors showed real character to record their own points while the flank was in the sin-bin.  In such spells wins are earned.

Villain of the match:  There were two occasions when Cian Healy lost his cool and it is now expected that the Irish loosehead prop will face a trip to a hearing.  The first indiscretion saw him stamp on Dan Cole's ankle before he led with the elbow in a ruck.  Not good at all.

The scorers:

For Ireland:
Pen:  O'Gara 2

For England:
Pen:  Farrell 4

Ireland:  15 Rob Kearney, 14 Craig Gilroy, 13 Brian O'Driscoll, 12 Gordon D'Arcy, 11 Simon Zebo, 10 Jonathan Sexton, 9 Conor Murray, 8 Jamie Heaslip (c), 7 Sean O'Brien, 6 Peter O'Mahony, 5 Donnacha Ryan, 4 Mike McCarthy , 3 Mike Ross, 2 Rory Best, 1 Cian Healy.
Replacements:  16 Sean Cronin, 17 Dave Kilcoyne, 18 Declan Fitzpatrick, 19 Donncha O'Callaghan, 20 Chris Henry, 21 Eoin Reddan, 22 Ronan O'Gara, 23 Keith Earls.

England:  15 Alex Goode, 14 Chris Ashton, 13 Brad Barritt, 12 Billy Twelvetrees, 11 Mike Brown, 10 Owen Farrell, 9 Ben Youngs, 8 Tom Wood, 7 Chris Robshaw (c), 6 James Haskell, 5 Geoff Parling, 4 Joe Launchbury, 3 Dan Cole, 2 Tom Youngs, 1 Joe Marler.
Replacements:  16 Dylan Hartley, 17 David Wilson, 18 Mako Vunipola, 19 Courtney Lawes, 20 Thomas Waldrom, 21 Danny Care, 22 Toby Flood, 23 Manu Tuilagi.

Referee:  Jérôme Garces (France)
Assistant referees:  Nigel Owens (Wales), Pascal Gauzere (France)
Television match official:  Iain Ramage (Scotland)

Ireland given lesson at Twickenham

England demonstrated a scrumming masterclass against Ireland as they crushed their visitors 30-9 in the Six Nations at Twickenham on Saturday.

In difficult weather conditions for running rugby, the English destroyed the Irish set-piece on numerous occasions as Alex Corbiserio, Dylan Hartley and Dan Cole enjoyed immense games.

The trio — with help from their back-five — totally dominated their opposite numbers in what became a feasting ground for the home side.

Victory means England finish the Championship in second place after winning four out of their five games while Ireland end up in third position.

Stuart Lancaster must now wait to see whether chief executive Ian Ritchie believes he is the right man to lead the English on a full-time basis.

On the evidence of the Six Nations, it will be difficult for Ritchie to overlook Lancaster staying with Graham Rowntree while Andy Farrell is unlikely to remain due to club commitments.

The opening half was a rather stagnant affair as both sides based their game largely on defence, with regular handling errors hampering proceedings.  Ultimately, the action at Twickenham failed to excite those watching as three Owen Farrell penalties and two from Jonathan Sexton meant the half-time score was 9-6.

What was a blow to the Irish cause was the loss of starting tighthead Mike Ross, who left the field injured on 36 minutes and left Ulster loosehead Tom Court with what proved to be the toughest 44 minutes of his career.  Cue England's pack twisting the knife at scrum-time.

Corbisiero was dominant while Cole also capitalised as Ireland's pack looked dejected, which created the first try of the game on 65 minutes when England were given a five-metre scrum after Tomas O'Leary carried over his line.  Referee Nigel Owens had little option.

In the 73rd minute another massive scrum effort led to a further penalty for England and Ben Youngs, who came on for an out-of-sorts Lee Dickson, reacted to tap quickly to scoot over.

Farrell could not land the conversion but added another penalty three minutes from time to complete the victory and rubber stamp another positive step forward for the young side.

Man of the match:  Change to Men.  England's pack.

Moment of the match:  It is harsh to pick on one Irish player but the back-tracking Tomas O'Leary was rather lethargic when running back in an attempt to collect a grubber through.  Ultimately he did not have time to clear which meant England had a five-metre scrum that turned into seven points.  The hosts turned the screw at the set-piece and the rest is history.

Villain of the match:  Despite all the hype, it was relatively clean.

The scorers:

For England:
Tries:  Penalty, Youngs
Con:  Farrell
Pen:  Farrell 6

For Ireland:
Pen:  Sexton 3

England:  15 Ben Foden, 14 Chris Ashton, 13 Manusamoa Tuilagi, 12 Brad Barritt, 11 David Strettle, 10 Owen Farrell, 9 Lee Dickson, 8 Ben Morgan, 7 Chris Robshaw (capt), 6 Tom Croft, 5 Geoff Parling, 4 Mouritz Botha, 3 Dan Cole, 2 Dylan Hartley, 1 Alex Corbisiero.
Replacements:  16 Lee Mears, 17 Matt Stevens, 18 Tom Palmer, 19 Phil Dowson, 20 Ben Youngs, 21 Charlie Hodgson, 22 Mike Brown.

Ireland:  15 Rob Kearney, 14 Tommy Bowe, 13 Keith Earls, 12 Gordon D'Arcy, 11 Andrew Trimble, 10 Jonathan Sexton, 9 Eoin Reddan, 8 Jamie Heaslip, 7 Sean O'Brien, 6 Stephen Ferris, 5 Donnacha Ryan, 4 Donncha O'Callaghan, 3 Mike Ross, 2 Rory Best (c), 1 Cian Healy.
Replacements:  16 Sean Cronin, 17 Tom Court, 18 Mike McCarthy, 19 Peter O'Mahony, 20 Tomas O'Leary, 21 Ronan O'Gara, 22 Fergus McFadden.

Referee:  Nigel Owens
Assistant referees:  Jérôme Garces, Neil Paterson
Television match official:  Jim Yuille

Slam party pooped by rampant Ireland

Ireland produced the performance that their whole nation had been waiting for on Saturday as they defeated old rivals England 24-8 at Aviva Stadium.

Declan Kidney's side were arguably three gears up from their showings in earlier rounds and consequently stunned the Grand Slam chasers, with tries from Tommy Bowe and Brian O'Driscoll sealing a much-needed win to lift team morale.

England in contrast were not quite at the races and will now face a slightly anxious wait to see how France and Wales pans out in Paris.  A points difference of 26 points is the task for Wales if they are to claim the Six Nations crown at the death.

A recalled Jonathan Sexton was deadly in front of goal for the fired-up Irish and struck four penalties in all while the score for O'Driscoll brought his total championship try tally up to a record 25.

However a large amount of credit for the victory must go to their back-row of Jamie Heaslip, Sean O'Brien and David Wallace, with the latter duo immense both in contact and in the loose.

England seemed confident at kick-off, although Ireland's defence immediately held up well and they soon won a penalty after their pack dominated the opening scrum.

They won another too when England strayed offside at a line-out after six minutes, with Sexton kicking three points from in front of the posts.  3-0 it was to Ireland.

Martin Johnson's side lost promising possession when trying to break through the midfield soon after, and although Ireland's counter ended with a knock-on, their next brought a high tackle by an, at times angry, Chris Ashton on Sexton.  He found the target and England found themselves 6-0 down after fifteen minutes.

Four minutes later Wallace ended the attempts of Ben Youngs to attack and the nine was then penalised at the scrum for knocking the ball out the hands of an opponent.

Sexton kicked for the corner and with territory established, Ireland worked the ball up and back down the line.  Although O'Driscoll then crossed in the left-hand corner, Bowe's pass to the overlap was adjudged forward.

Still, there was the consolation of another three points for Sexton and the knowledge that they held the upper hand.  It was to get worse for England.

Having been awarded a penalty in the 25th minutes that he would surely have normally taken, an out-of-sorts Tony Flood was found wanting with the boot.

Ireland pressed forward immediately and caught England flat-footed, with a busy Bowe this time making no mistake as he took a smart Sexton's pass to cross.

Sexton could not convert, but Flood could at least put England's first points on the board with a penalty just past the half hour.  And boy did they need it.

They could not use that to fashion a response though;  instead Wallace came close to scoring after England's backline were dispossessed dealing with a high kick.

Youngs had helped bundled Wallace into touch but he was then sin-binned for throwing the ball into the crowd and preventing the quick throw.  Sexton kicked his fourth, with Wallace almost crossing one minute before the half time interval.

England appeared just as nervous at the start of the second half as Ireland piled on more heat, although they failed to make the man advantage pay off.  But with Danny Care replacing Youngs it didn't matter as O'Driscoll picked up a loose ball to cross in the left-hand corner after 46 minutes, with Sexton converting.

Ashton then burst for the line but his final pass found Gordon D'Arcy.  However, Ireland gifted their opponents a try on 52 minutes after a line-out went awry and Thompson took advantage, England's record-cap hooker racing over for a try.

Jonny Wilkinson added the two and it was around this time that England finally appeared to get their act together and consistently apply pressure themselves.

Ireland's defence remained unbreached, however, and with heavy rain falling, the hosts got some respite when Care struggled to control the ball on the wet surface.

Ireland remained ahead on territory in the closing ten minutes and try as England might, their increasingly tired-looking attacks never looked likely to prosper.

Victory was celebrated like a championship for Ireland but who can blame them?  Success against their old foes and depriving them of a Grand Slam, the Six Nations title?

Man-of-the-match:  Leinster flanker Sean O'Brien was once again immense for Ireland with his carrying strength killing England.  David Wallace and Jonathan Sexton also deserve a big mention for their efforts but captain and centre Brian O'Driscoll gets the gong for his all-action showing that saw him become the top try-scorer in Five/Six Nations history.

The scorers:

For Ireland:
Tries:  Bowe, O'Driscoll
Con:  Sexton
Pen:  Sexton 4

For England:
Tries:  Thompson
Pen:  Flood

Ireland:  15 Keith Earls 14 Tommy Bowe, 13 Brian O'Driscoll (capt), 12 Gordon D'Arcy, 11 Andrew Trimble, 10 Jonathan Sexton, 9 Eoin Reddan, 8 Jamie Heaslip, 7 David Wallace, 6 Sean O'Brien, 5 Paul O'Connell, 4 Donncha O'Callaghan, 3 Mike Ross, 2 Rory Best, 1 Cian Healy.
Replacements:  16 Sean Cronin, 17 Tom Court, 18 Leo Cullen, 19 Denis Leamy, 20 Peter Stringer, 21 Ronan O'Gara, 22 Paddy Wallace.

England:  15 Ben Foden, 14 Chris Ashton, 13 Matt Banahan, 12 Shontayne Hape, 11 Mark Cueto, 10 Toby Flood, 9 Ben Youngs, 8 Nick Easter, 7 James Haskell, 6 Tom Wood, 5 Tom Palmer, 4 Louis Deacon, 3 Dan Cole, 2 Dylan Hartley, 1 Alex Corbisiero.
Replacements:  16 Steve Thompson, 17 Paul Doran-Jones, 18 Simon Shaw, 19 Tom Croft, 20 Danny Care, 21 Jonny Wilkinson, 22 David Strettle.

Referee:  Bryce Lawrence (New Zealand)
Assistant referees:  Nigel Owens (Wales), Tim Hayes (Wales)
Television match official:  Giulio De Santis (Italy)

Bowe double sinks England

England had their Grand Slam dream extinguished on Saturday as a Tommy Bowe double guided Ireland to a 20-16 victory at Twickenham.

Despite dominating for long periods in the first period and significant chunks of the second, England were ultimately handed a painful lesson in how to take your chances by the champions.

Twice the Irish pounced on occasions where they sensed their hosts might be suspect of being caught cold.  First it was turnover ball that Jamie Heaslip brought out before Jonathan Sexton slid a nice ball through for the onrushing Bowe, who cruised past Lewis Moody to the rolling ball.

Then with England looking like they were heading to victory thanks to a Jonny Wilkinson drop-goal, the wing then cut a beautiful line at first-receiver to give the travelling support all the motivation they needed to have a good night out in London.

Victory means that Ireland have kept alive their hopes of retaining the Six Nations and they will be hoping for England to do them a favour in Paris.

They do have one slight injury concern ahead of their upcoming meeting with the Welsh, however, as captain and centre Brian O'Driscoll was stretchered from the field following an accidental collision with Paul O'Connell's knee during the second-half.

England had spoken all week of playing with greater attacking ambition and sure enough they ran their first possession from the 22.  And although it did not pay dividends following that aforementioned Bowe opener on four minutes, there was much to encourage HQ.

To make matters worse, England lock Simon Shaw left the field gingerly holding his wrist and was replaced by Louis Deacon.

Wilkinson missed with a 40-metre drop-goal as advantage was played and then hit the post with his penalty attempt.

England continued and piled forward and a barnstorming run and offload from Nick Easter sent Dylan Hartley to within a metre of the line.  Then Wilkinson lofted a deft chip into the in-goal area intended for Delon Armitage but the full-back could not get there in time.

The fly-half then got England on the board with a simple penalty after fifteen minutes before the heavens opened and, with a period of torrential rain, the game became a physical tussle.  Ireland's forwards adapted better.  Their driving game was superior and England's lineout began to malfunction, as it did in the second-half against the Italians.

Keith Earls sliced dangerously through the England midfield before Sexton, having seen one 50-metre effort fall just short, exchanged penalties with Wilkinson.  Ireland took an 8-6 lead into the interval.

Upon their return from respective dressing rooms, Sexton and Wilkinson both missed shots at goal but Ireland's forwards retained the edge, both in the set-piece and at the breakdown.

The margins were extremely fine and England's discipline, as it did in the corresponding game last season, let them down at a key moment.  We are referring to an England scrum which had won a penalty but referee Lawrence reversed it after Care hauled Tomas O'Leary to the ground.  Sexton found touch, O'Connell claimed the lineout, Ireland set a platform in midfield and they swung the ball left for Earls to race over in the corner.

England needed an immediate response and produced it, drawing level with a maiden Test try from Cole after a lengthy deliberation from the Italian TMO Carlo Damasco.

Then came the O'Connell/O'Driscoll incident which saw the momentum shift.  Wilkinson could not capitalise immediately, missing a third penalty attempt, but with nine minutes remaining he stepped onto his right foot and drilled a drop-goal.

England led for the first time in the match but it lasted just two minutes as Ireland crafted a brilliant response, winning clean lineout ball for Bowe to slice through England's defence.

Man-of-the-match:  After picking up his first two tries of the Championship -- vitally important ones at that -- Tommy Bowe earns the accolade.

Moment-of-the-match:  Bowe's second try was much like JP Pietersen's in the recent British & Irish Lions tour of South Africa.  A great individual score off the set-piece that killed off England while keeping alive Ireland's slim hopes of retaining their trophy.

Villain-of-the-match:  The clumsiness of Paul O'Connell should his accidental collision with Brian O'Driscoll rule out the centre against Wales in Dublin.

The scorers:

For England:
Tries:  Cole
Con:  Wilkinson
Pen:  Wilkinson
Drop:  Wilkinson

For Ireland:
Tries:  Bowe 2, Earls
Con:  O'Gara
Pen:  Sexton

England:  15 Delon Armitage, 14 Mark Cueto, 13 Mathew Tait, 12 Riki Flutey, 11 Ugo Monye, 10 Jonny Wilkinson, 9 Danny Care, 8 Nick Easter, 7 Lewis Moody, 6 James Haskell, 5 Steve Borthwick, 4 Simon Shaw, 3 Dan Cole, 2 Dylan Hartley, 1 Tim Payne.
Replacements:  16 Lee Mears, 17 David Wilson, 18 Louis Deacon, 19 Joe Worsley 20 Paul Hodgson, 21 Toby Flood, 22 Ben Foden.

Ireland:  15 Geordan Murphy, 14 Tommy Bowe, 13 Brian O'Driscoll, 12 Gordon D'Arcy, 11 Keith Earls, 10 Jonathan Sexton, 9 Tomas O'Leary, 8 Jamie Heaslip, 7 David Wallace, 6 Stephen Ferris, 5 Paul O'Connell, 4 Donncha O'Callaghan, 3 John Hayes, 2 Rory Best, 1 Cian Healy.
Replacements:  16 Sean Cronin, 17 Tony Buckley, 18 Leo Cullen, 19 Shane Jennings , 20 Eoin Reddan, 21 Ronan O'Gara, 22 Andrew Trimble

Referee:  Mark Lawrence (South Africa)
Assistant referees:  Christophe Berdos (France), David Changleng (Scotland)
Television match official:  Carlo Damasco (Italy)

Ireland grab ugly win over England

Ireland are now the only team left who could land a six Nations Grand Slam, after they beat England 14-13 in a miserable encounter at Croke Park on Saturday.

Brian O'Driscoll got the crucial try with 23 minutes to go, a suitable riposte after he had twice been felled late and without arms in, well, after the process of kicking.

Ronan O'Gara missed the conversion of that, and three other shots at goal on a strange off-day for him.  Other teams would have made Ireland pay, for like O'Gara's boot, the Irish were rarely at their best.

England are not one of those other teams.  Once again, ill-discipline pervaded their efforts, never more apparent than when Phil Vickery became England's ninth yellow-card recipient in four games for killing the ball not two minutes after referee Craig Joubert had issued a stern and lengthy team warning.  Two minutes later, O'Driscoll scored.  As if the fact that you cannot win with 14 men had not been emphasized enough ...

It didn't stop there either.  Danny Care followed Vickery with ten minutes to go for an asinine shoulder charge on an innocent bystander at a ruck, helping O'Gara extend the lead to 14-6.  Two yellow cards, eight points conceded as a result, eight points the defference between the two teams going into the final minute in which England scored.  We'll leave it up to you to imagine the colour of the air around Martin Johnson in the stands.

Revitalised and rejuvenated by Declan Kidney's arrival, the mental frailties that have so often undermined Irish rugby appear to have been stamped out.

Paul O'Connell looks more certain to be Lions captain by the week, while Brian O'Driscoll is showing the form of old.  He scored a try, a drop-goal and was named man of the match.

A team so long considered Six Nations bridesmaids can start sizing up their bridal gowns.  Ireland have won three Triple Crowns in four years.  No longer will that be good enough.

Scotland lie in wait at Murrayfield in a fortnight before a trip to Cardiff on the final weekend.  Ireland have a first Grand Slam since 1948 firmly in their sights.

England spent most of a physical first half forced onto the back foot by the ferocious Irish forwards.

Under pressure, England were penalised seven times in 40 minutes and were fortunate not to be trailing after O'Gara missed two relatively simple shots at goal.

Neither side showed any real inclination to play rugby and the 81,000-plus Croke Park crowd spent long periods craning their necks to watch aimless bouts of kick-tennis.

England's early glimpses of adventure, with nice touches from Riki Flutey and Mike Tindall, came to nothing as they twice ignored overlaps.

And from the moment Joe Worsley was overwhelmed at the breakdown, it was Ireland who edged the physical battle and they enjoyed 59 per cent of the first-half possession.

O'Gara almost created the opening try with a deft chip over the top for Tommy Bowe but Mark Cueto reacted smartly to win the race and touch down.

After two simple misses, O'Gara finally nudged Ireland onto the scoreboard just before the half-hour mark as England scrambled to recover after Flood's pass had been intercepted by O'Driscoll.

England managed to draw themselves level just before the interval with a Flood penalty from their one foray into the Irish 22.

But Ireland started the second half with purpose, helped by James Haskell and then Flood conceding careless penalties.

O'Driscoll snapped over a drop-goal before Ireland built 10 minutes of virtually unbroken pressure and tempers began to fray.

A series of tit-for-tat off-the-ball barges ended with referee Craig Joubert issuing a stern warning to England captain Steve Borthwick after Armitage was penalised for taking out O'Driscoll.

Tomas O'Leary sniped to within inches of the line before Joubert's patience finally snapped and Vickery was sent to the sin-bin as England defended desperately.

Ireland opted for the scrum and O'Driscoll crashed over from close range to score his third try of the championship.

O'Gara had an off day with the boot and missed with the conversion before Johnson began to ring the changes, with Mathew Tait, Care, Goode and Dylan Hartley all sent on.

In the midst of the changes, Armitage reduced the arrears to 11-6.  England were still in with a chance -- but then Care decided to crash into Horan from behind and was yellow-carded.

England staged a late rally with Goode and Tindall's breaking through the Irish midfield before Armitage sprinted onto the grubber kick to score.

Goode landed the tough conversion but England ran out of time.  We'll see in a fortnight if Martin Johnson has run out of patience with his miscreants.

The scorers:

For Ireland:
Try:  O'Driscoll
Con:  O'Gara
Pens:  O'Gara 2
Drop goal:  O'Driscoll

For England:
Try:  Armitage
Con:  Goode
Pens:  Flood, Armitage

Yellow card:  Vickery (England, 55, persistent infringement), Care (England, 70, off-the-ball tackle)

Ireland:  15 Rob Kearney, 14 Tommy Bowe, 13 Brian O'Driscoll (captain), 12 Paddy Wallace, 11 Luke Fitzgerald, 10 Ronan O'Gara, 9 Tomas O'Leary, 8 Jamie Heaslip, 7 David Wallace, 6 Stephen Ferris, 5 Paul O'Connell, 4 Donncha O'Callaghan, 3 John Hayes, 2 Jerry Flannery, 1 Marcus Horan.
Replacements:  16 Rory Best, 17 Tom Court, 18 Mick O'Driscoll, 19 Denis Leamy, 20 Peter Stringer, 21 Gordon D'Arcy, 22 Geordan Murphy.

England:  15 Delon Armitage, 14 Paul Sackey, 13 Mike Tindall, 12 Riki Flutey, 11 Mark Cueto, 10 Toby Flood, 9 Harry Ellis, 8 Nick Easter, 7 Joe Worsley, 6 James Haskell, 5 Nick Kennedy, 4 Steve Borthwick (captain), 3 Phil Vickery, 2 Lee Mears, 1 Andrew Sheridan.
Replacements:  16 Dylan Hartley, 17 Julian White, 18 Tom Croft, 19 Luke Narraway, 20 Danny Care, 21 Andy Goode, 22 Mathew Tait.

Referee:  Craig Joubert (South Africa)
Touch judges:  Christophe Berdos (France), Peter Allan (Scotland)
Television match official:  Giulio De Santis (Italy)

Cipriani steers England home

England bounced back from their Edinburgh ills by recording a well-taken 33-10 win over Ireland at Twickenham on Saturday, with Danny Cipriani celebrating his first Test start by contributing 18 points.

The questions that linger after this match concern the coaches.  Has Brian Ashton's skin been saved by his youthful troops?

Danny Cipriani delivered outstandingly, but Tom Croft and Michael Lipman should also get honourable mentions.  Lesley Vainikolo pulled his weight, and James Haskell made a promising return from injury.  It was a rare good day at the office for England rugby.

Has Eddie O'Sullivan's time finally come after eight years in Ireland's hot seat?  His team started well enough, but no longer are they as physically dominant and controlled as in days of old.  Of the youngsters coming through, only Luke Fitzgerald showed signs of maturing into a full international player, and the team still retained an air of staleness.  We await the union inquests on both sides of the Irish sea with interest.

The game started with both teams displaying all the ordinariness of the weeks gone by.  Fully two minutes at the start of the game consisted of poor quality kicks.

Then Ireland got a penalty and pushed it to touch.  Then they got a free-kick at the line-out and opted to tap and spin the ball wide.  Moments later Rob Kearney budged through a couple of tackles and scored.  Ronan O'Gara converted and it was 0-7.

Worse still for the home team came moments later, with Iain Balshaw penalised for holding on and Ronan O'Gara punishing the infringement with a penalty.  0-10 after seven minutes, and the axe-wielders were sharpening their blades around the English coaching seats.

But Cipriani came good, as at last England produced some good quality ball.  First a flat pass to Jamie Noon was batted on to send Nick Easter charging into the Irish 22.  Then there was a neat little grubber to the corner.  Then there was England's first points of the afternoon from the tee after Jamie Heaslip was caught going over the top.  Then there were two whopping kicks from hand to gain his team 70 metres.

Cipriani's ebullience spread to his team-mates.  Vainikolo got the ball in space and began to bounce people off his ridiculous thighs.  The back-row began to get into the game.  Balshaw looked positively competent.  More than anything else though, England's exuded utter physical domination at the breakdown, and it soon yielded results.

Paul Sackey made an elegant run to Ireland's 22, and then Lipman took it on at pace and with strength.  Lipman offloaded to Flood, who set the ball up well, and Cipriani wasted no time in looking for the men wide.  The last man was Sackey, who ghosted over the line.  Cipriani made it 10-10 with the extras.

Penalty after penalty came England's way thereafter, as Ireland were simply smashed out of the game.  Steve Borthwick and Simon Shaw were monstrous, and Cipriani's clever choices released the backs dangerously each time.  Jamie Noon could have scored on 25 minutes, and so could Toby Flood had Noon thought to look to his right instead of going for the line.  Eventually Cipriani did give England the lead after half an hour from an offside penalty.  That was pretty much it for the first half as England continued to dominate although Ireland held firm.  So far so good for England, but what would the second half yield?

Well, it yielded a turnover from Croft, a charge into the England 22 from Shane Horgan, and a dangerous position for the Irish, but in stark contrast to previous weeks, England's defence held firm -- helped in no small way by the lack of support for Irish runners.

Four minutes later, after nine phases of English possession, a penalty, which Cipriani clipped over for a 16-10 lead.  England were in complete control.

Ireland did not lie down.  Tommy Bowe and Luke Fitzgerald combined superbly to take the ball into England's 22, but once again the subsequent phases were slowed by a lack of support.  Ireland then managed to eke out a penalty, but O'Gara missed.  Andrew Trimble, then Bowe, then Horgan, then Simon Easterby all got ball in good positions in the England 22, but every time the white shirts outnumbered the green ones by two to one, the door was held shut, and no Irishman would prise it open.

Eventually, after another deft piece of footwork by Cipriani, and with Jonny Wilkinson now installed in the centre to back the youngster up as the game approached crunch-time, a superb quick hands move led to a try in the corner for Mathew Tait, who had only been on for two minutes as a blood replacement for Sackey, and left the field again while celebrating his try.  With Wilkinson on, the question hung in the air:  Who would convert?  Cipriani of course.

Then, Cipriani's pièce de resistance.  A five-metre scrum, an outside line, and a perfect flip pass to Noon for England's third score, followed up by a majestic touchline conversion.  He also landed another late penalty, completing a seven out of seven kicking record.  Is this another false dawn or have England unearthed someone to guide them into the future?  And will Brian Ashton be his mentor if they have?

Man of the Match:  Please re-read.  There is only one candidate.  Arise, Sir Danny Cipriani.

Moment of the match:  Mathew Tait's try.  The kind of move England fans have been yearning for since last year.

Villain of the match:  Nobody -- a good clean game, and it is worth noting how many times we have written this during this Six Nations.

The scorers:

For England:
Tries:  Sackey, Tait, Noon
Cons:  Cipriani 3
Pens:  Cipriani 4
Drops:

For Ireland:
Tries:  Kearney
Cons:  O'Gara
Pens:  O'Gara

England:  15 Iain Balshaw, 14 Paul Sackey, 13 Jamie Noon, 12 Toby Flood, 11 Lesley Vainikolo, 10 Danny Cipriani, 9 Richard Wigglesworth, 8 Nick Easter, 7 Michael Lipman, 6 Tom Croft, 5 Steve Borthwick, 4 Simon Shaw, 3 Phil Vickery (c), 2 Lee Mears, 1 Andrew Sheridan.
Replacements:  16 George Chuter, 17 Matt Stevens, 18 Ben Kay, 19 James Haskell, 20 Paul Hodgson, 21 Jonny Wilkinson, 22 Mathew Tait.

Ireland:  15 Geordan Murphy, 14 Tommy Bowe, 13 Andrew Trimble, 12 Shane Horgan, 11 Rob Kearney, 10 Ronan O'Gara (c), 9 Eoin Reddan, 8 Jamie Heaslip, 7 David Wallace, 6 Denis Leamy, 5 Paul O'Connell, 4 Donncha O'Callaghan, 3 John Hayes, 2 Rory Best, 1 Marcus Horan.
Replacements:  16 Bernard Jackman, 17 Tony Buckley, 18 Mick O'Driscoll, 19 Simon Easterby, 20 Peter Stringer, 21 Paddy Wallace, 22 Luke Fitzgerald.

Referee:  Stuart Dickinson (Australia)
Touch judges:  Nigel Owens (Wales), Tim Hayes (Wales)
Television match official:  Hugh Watkins (Wales)
Assessor:  Steve Hilditch (Ireland)

English bounced out of Croke Park

It was Ireland's Croke Park party and England were the possible gatecrashers, but the Irish sent the English crashing to earth with a 43-13 humiliation at Croke Party on Saturday.

The Irish put on a show of intensity not seen since New Zealand's infamous victory over France in November 2004, and the English were powerless to prevent the green tide that washed over them, leaving few survivors in its wake.

History was made in Dublin on a rainy, rainy day.  The rain was nothing out of the ordinary but playing the foreign game in the temple of the GAA was.  And there was more.  Ireland did not just win the match.  They set a new record, their biggest ever defeat over England, the 30-point margin surpassing the 22-0 of 60 years ago.

The Soldier's Song and Ireland's Call and Athenry never sounded sop glorious as it did when over 70 000 Irishmen sang it at Croke Park.

The most ardent of GAA men must have raised a glass in satisfaction for what Brian O'Driscoll and his men did.

England started off well enough and then the rest of the match belonged to Ireland.  It started up front where they disrupted the English line-out where the only stability was provided by Martin Corry, and they destroyed the England scrum, especially in the period when Danny Grewcock was watching from the sin bin while Ireland scored 14 points.  His side really suffered while he, not for the first time, was off the field.

With the tights on top the Irish loose forwards overshadowed their English counterparts.  Each one of the Irish loose trio had an effective game.

It was a match of intense collision at every tackle.  The players' concentration was absolute.

Then the Irish backs were superior.  Ronan O'Gara had a much bigger effect on the game than ball-starved Jonny Wilkinson, and outside of that there was no contest.  The Irish centres were much better.  The Irish wings were much better than the English wings and the Irish fullback did far more than the English full-backs.  In fact the England back three were largely anonymous, except for three moments from newcomer David Strettle.

The Irish backs seemed able to ignore the wet and their first try was the result of daring passing in the wet.

The score was 9-3 to Ireland at the time.  They had their best chance to score when Simon Easterby had a great run.  They were close to the line when Grewcock was, to say the least, impetuous and went off to think about his life.

Their try came after they had battered from a maul and were right at the line.  Back it came and Peter Stringer fired his impeccable service to the right.  Gordon D'Arcy flicked a pass on.  Bian O'Driscoll picked up the low ball and gave a perfect pass to Girvan Dempsey who scored with Shane Horgan unused on his outside.  O'Gara converted.  16-9.

By this time Ireland were well and truly on top.

They came close soon afterwards when Horgan cut back on a long sharp runt.  Mat Tait saved England with a brave tackle and then as Ireland continued to threaten George Chuter saved with a tackle on Paul O'Connell, who lost the ball forward.  Five-metre scrum to England.  Ireland destroyed the England scrum and got a five-metre scrum of their own on the right.  They went blind and TMO Romain Poite was able to confirm "un essai pour les Verts".  O'Gara converted.

England kicked off and seemed filled with wild determination but it fizzled out.

Grewcock returned 14 points later.

Ireland started the second half well and had England rattled but the visitors rallied and had their best passage of play in the match, crowned by an excellent try by Strettle in the corner as two Irishmen tried to get to him.  Wilkinson goaled from touch.  26-10 to Ireland after 47 minutes.

Wilkinson tried a penalty from the half-way line when O'Connell was penalised for "crossing" but he was short.  Leamy was penalised shortly afterwards at a tackle and Wilkinson made no mistake with the easier kick, cancelled out two minutes later when Phil Vickery was penalised at a scrum.  29-13 after 57 minutes.

O'Driscoll was over in the left corner but Mike Tindall held up O'Driscoll.  That gave Ireland a five-metre scrum on their left.  Leamy charged off on a diagonal going right and then the ball came back to O'Gara who exquisitely, breathtakingly, stabbed a long diagonal which Horgan plucked out of the air, falling to ground for a wonderful try, which, ineluctably, O'Gara converted.  36-13 with 14 minutes to play.

Ireland had good moments when Denis Hickie counter-attacked, when O'Driscoll intercepted, and when only a horrible bounce denied David Wallace a try.

Ireland sent all the troops from the bench to savour the history of the moment and one of them delighted the whole of Ireland.  England got the ball from a scrum in midfield.  Shaun Perry went right, changed his mind and threw a long pass to his left, which Isaac Boss intercepted and off he raced some 40 metres towards Hill 16 for a try at the posts.

When Paddy Wallace kicked the last penalty out and the final whistle went, great jubilation erupted into the Dublin night.

Man of the Match:  There were lots of Irish candidates from Girvan Dempsey to skilful Marcus Horan.  Perhaps the halves deserved it a bit more.  Perhaps the loose trio also deserved special mention but the man who seemed the king of that Dublin night, the great Irish champion, was our Man of the Match, Paul O'Connell who competed for everything at line-outs and at the tackle and in the scrums -- a worthy combatant.

Moment of the Match:  Shane Horgan's try.  It would have delighted the hearts of every Gaelic Football man -- that pinpoint punt across the field, the tall man reaching up to pluck the ball out of the sky, the try.  It was a score fitting of Croke Park.

Villain of the Match:  Danny Grewcock -- but we doubt he will learn.

The scorers:

For Ireland:
Tries:  Dempsey, Wallace, Horgan, Boss
Cons:  O'Gara 4
Pens:  O'Gara 5

For England:
Try:  Strettle
Con:  Wilkinson
Pens:  Wilkinson 2

Yellow card:  Grewcock (28, England, deliberate offside)

Ireland:  Girvan Dempsey, 14 Shane Horgan, 13 Brian O'Driscoll (captain), 12 Gordon D'Arcy, 11 Denis Hickie, 10 Ronan O'Gara, 9 Peter Stringer/ Isaac Boss, 8 Denis Leamy, 7 David Wallace, 6 Simon Easterby, 5 Paul O'Connell, 4 Donncha O'Callaghan, 3 John Hayes, 2 Rory Best, 1 Marcus Horan.
Replacements:  16 Jerry Flannery, 17 Simon Best, 18 Neil Best, 19 Mick O'Driscoll, 20 Isaac Boss/ Eoin Reddan, 21 Paddy Wallace, 22 Andrew Trimble.

England:  15 Olly Morgan, 14 Josh Lewsey, 13 Mike Tindall, 12 Andy Farrell, 11 David Strettle, 10 Jonny Wilkinson, 9 Harry Ellis, 8 Martin Corry, 7 Magnus Lund, 6 Joe Worsley, 5 Danny Grewcock, 4 Louis Deacon, 3 Phil Vickery (captain), 2 George Chuter, 1 Perry Freshwater.
Replacements:  16 Lee Mears, 17 Julian White, 18 Tom Palmer, 19 Tom Rees, 20 Shaun Perry, 21 Toby Flood, 22 Mat Tait

Referee:  Joël Jutge (France)
Touch judges:  Nigel Whitehouse (Wales), Christophe Berdos (France)
Television match official:  Romain Poite (France)
Assessor:  Steve Hilditch (Ireland)