Ireland defeat England after second-half surge

The three-in-a-row bid is up and running for Ireland, and it will take something pretty big to stop them.

In his first game as interim head coach Simon Easterby could hardly have asked for a better outcome. Trailing England 10-5 at half time, the defending champions were going through the motions before flexing their muscles in the final quarter.

And while their bonus-point 27-22 win was far from perfect, the manner in which they put England away in the final quarter will be hugely satisfying. The scoreline may suggest a close contest, but with England's final try from Tommy Freeman coming with the clock in the red, the result was never really in doubt down the stretch.

A try for Jamison-Gibson Park in the opening half was all the hosts could muster in a sloppy first half, where their discipline and handling issues from November, continued to frustrate them.

England led through a try for debutant Cadan Murley and a penalty and conversion from Marcus Smith, who caused the Irish defence real problems for the opening 40 minutes.

But as the game wore on, their new defensive system was picked apart bit by bit by Ireland’s improved attacking shape.

They drew level through Bundee Aki’s brute force on 51 minutes, and took the lead when Sam Prendergast landed a penalty, and while the game was still in the balance heading into the final quarter, only for Tadhg Beirne and the returning Dan Sheehan (below) to score tries, both scores coming from Ireland splitting England’s defence up the middle.

Ireland spent the opening minutes camped inside their own half, in large part down to their own errors.

England had good control of the early kicking exchanges, and when Garry Ringrose spilled a high ball, Smith sent England on the counter, before the chance ended with a crossfield kick that drifted into touch.

The visitors had all the territory, and deservedly took the lead on eight minutes, as Murley dived in for a debut try.

A hard carry from Ollie Lawrence set the tone, slipping off Tadhg Beirne and Gibson-Park, and after Smith swung the ball down the blindisde, Henry Slade’s grubber in behind Robbie Henshaw and Hugo Keenan was weighted perfectly for the winger (below) who connected to score, before Smith’s conversion made it 7-0.

Finally, with some possession, Ireland should have drawn level on the quarter hour mark when, after a series of penalties, Rónan Kelleher broke through an unattended fringe of a ruck to apparently score a try. However, after checking with the TMO, referee Ben O’Keeffe chalked off the try, Beirne rightly penalised for holding back Itoje at the edge of the breakdown.

Ireland’s attacking game was looking sharper than it had been in November, but handling errors and discipline were killing them. A break from Ryan Baird into the 22 saw England pick up a yellow card through Smith, but from the next possession, James Ryan was penalised for obstruction.

The hosts were getting opportunities, and Prendergast was growing into the game, particularly when a neat wraparound move stretched the England defence, only for Bundee Aki to knock the ball on.

And then, on 33 minutes, they got a try from nowhere.

There didn’t look to be much on when Keenan swung a pass out to the left wing for Lowe, still inside his own half.

Rather than kick down the touchline, Lowe took on Alex Mitchell around the outside, shrugging the England scrum-half off before passing back inside to Gibson-Park on the support line. The Ireland 9 (below) angled for the corner, before stepping back in to beat Freddie Steward, and dive over to score.

Prendergast pulled a relatively straightforward conversion left and wide, and by half time it looked a costly error, with England going into the break 10-5 in front after Smith tapped over a penalty with the final play of the 40.

It was a similar story for Ireland early in the second half, with a dominance of territory, only for poor ball security to deny them in the crucial moments.

After Murley dawdled over a high ball in his 22, the Irish kick-chase hounded him, winning a five metre scrum, which would in turn lead to a penalty on 47 minutes. From the resulting lineout, Kelleher came charging around the corner towards the line, only to lose the ball in contact.

The subtle touch wasn't working, so on 51 minutes, Aki took the no-nonsense approach. Receiving a pass out on the left touchline, the centre skittled the first tackle of Smith, before carrying Mitchell and Freeman over the line to score Ireland’s first try on 51 minutes.

Prendergast’s touchline conversion was again wide, leaving the scores level at 10-10, but two minutes later the out-half made amends, landing a penalty from distance to give Ireland their first lead at 13-10.

The momentum was swinging Ireland’s way, but still they couldn't grasp it. A clearing kick out on the full from Lowe saw them fall back into their own half, before Finlay Bealham departed with an ankle injury.

Ireland were struggling to convert, but the chances were there to be taken, and with 17 minutes left they made one count.

Hiding Lowe in behind a pod of forwards, the wing nipped inside to take a short pass off Gibson-Park just inside the English half after Chandler Cunningham-South had been defending a ruck too wide. After breaking into space, Lowe passed back inside to Beirne (above), who sprinted clear to score, while Crowley’s conversion pushed Ireland into a double-digit lead at 20-10.

With 10 minutes to go, Sheehan put the result beyond doubt. The bonus-point try started and finished with the hooker, whose tip-on pass put Jack Conan through a hole in the defence. After a quick recycle, Ireland moved wide to Lowe who broke clear down the left wing, and the wing unselfishly picked up his third try-assist of the day, popping inside to Sheehan for the fourth try, which Crowley converted to make it 27-10.

A Tom Curry try with four minutes left gave England a sliver of hope, but when Smith pulled his conversion wide, Ireland were still 12 ahead, ensuring there would be no late drama, despite Freeman scoring a late try to pick up a losing bonus for the visitors.

SCORERS

Ireland - Tries: Jamison Gibson-Park, Bundee Aki, Tadhg Beirne, Dan Sheehan

Cons: Jack Crowley (2)

Pen: Sam Prendergast (1)

England – Tries: Cadan Murley, Tom Curry, Tommy Freeman

Cons: Marcus Smith (2)

Pens: Marcus Smith (1)

Ireland: Hugo Keenan; Mack Hansen, Garry Ringrose, Bundee Aki, James Lowe; Sam Prendergast, Jamison Gibson-Park; Andrew Porter, Rónan Kelleher, Finlay Bealham; James Ryan, Tadhg Beirne; Ryan Baird, Josh van der Flier, Caelan Doris (capt).

Replacements: Dan Sheehan (for Kelleher, 48), Cian Healy (for Porter, 74), Thomas Clarkson (for Bealham, 58), Iain Henderson (for Ryan, 61), Jack Conan (for Baird, 48), Conor Murray (for Gibson-Park, 74), Jack Crowley (for Prendergast, 58), Robbie Henshaw (for Hansen, 4-16 [blood] and for Aki, 57).

England: Freddie Steward; Tommy Freeman, Henry Slade, Ollie Lawrence, Cadan Murley; Marcus Smith, Alex Mitchell; Ellis Genge, Luke Cowan-Dickie, Will Stuart; Maro Itoje (capt), George Martin; Tom Curry, Ben Curry, Ben Earl.

Replacements: Theo Dan, Fin Baxter (for Genge, 70), Joe Heyes (for Stuart, 37-41 [HIA], 48-59) and 70), Ollie Chessum (for Martin, 59), Chandler Cunningham-South (for Ben Curry, 59), Tom Willis, Harry Randall (for Mitchell, 63), Fin Smith (for Steward, 63).

Referee: Ben O'Keeffe (NZ)