England's crushing victory over Ireland keeps Triple Crown hopes alive
England’s claim they were ready to rediscover the form that swept them to last autumn’s World Cup final materialised into a crushing 24-12 victory over Ireland at Twickenham, keeping their Triple Crown hopes alive.
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 Guinness Six Nations’ only unbeaten team.
From start to finish they tore into opponents who never recovered from an early onslaught and whose fingers found the self-destruct button with alarming frequency.
George Ford and Elliot 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.
WATCH: Wales post-match press conference with head coach Wayne Pivac and captain Alun Wyn Jones after 27-23 Guinness Six Nations defeat to France in Cardiff.
Luke 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.
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– @alexshawsport ???rates the English players #ENGvIRE https://t.co/kgNJJ9lscO
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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.
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.
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Here's how we rated that Ireland 'performance' #ENGvIREhttps://t.co/XY1zjl3Lf4
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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.
Robbie 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 Andrew Porter, it failed to distract from a heavy defeat.
Press Association
Comments on RugbyPass
Thanks Brett, love your articles which are alway pertinent. It’s a difficult topic trying to have a panel adjudicating consistently penalties for red card issues. Many of the mitigating reasons raised are judged subjectively, hence the different outcomes. How to take away subjective opinions?
4 Go to commentsYes Sir! Surprising, just like Fraser would also have escaped sanction if he was a few inches lower, even if it was by accident that he missed! Has there really been talk about those sanctions or is this just sensational journalism? I stopped reading, so might have missed any notations.
4 Go to commentsAI is only as good as the information put in, the nuances of the sport, what you see out the corner of the eye, how you sum up in a split second the situation, yes the AI is a tool but will not help win games, more likely contribute to a loss, Rugby Players are not robots, all AI can do if offer a solution not the solution. AI will effect many sports, help train better golfers etc.
45 Go to commentsIt couldn’t have been Ryan Crotty. He wasn’t selected in either World Cup side - they chose Money Bill instead. And Money Bill only cared about himself, and that manager he had, not the team.
26 Go to commentsYawn 🥱 nobody would give a hoot about this new trophy. End of the day we just have to beat Ireland and NZ this year then they can finally shut up 🤐
13 Go to commentsTalking bout Ryan Crotty? Heard Crotty say in a interview once that SBW doesen't care about the team . He went on to say that whenever they lost a big game, SBW would be happy as if nothing happened, according to him someone who cares would look down.. Personally I think Crotty is in the wrong, not for feeling gutted but for expecting others 2 be like him… I have been a bad loser forever as it matters so much to me but good on you SBW for being able to see the bigger picture….
26 Go to commentsThis sounds like a WWE idea so Americans can also get excited about rugby, RUGBY NEEDS A INTERNATIONAL CALENDER .. The rugby Championship and Six Nations can be held at same time, top 3 of six nations and top 3 of Rugby championship (6 nations should include Georgia AND another qualifying country while Fiji, Japan and Samoa/Tonga qualifier should make out 6 Southern teams).. Scrap June internationals and year end tours. Have a Elite top six Cup and the Bottom 6 in a secondary comp….
13 Go to commentsThe rugby championship would be even stronger with Fiji in it… I know it doesen’t fit the long term plans of NZ or Aus but you are robbing a whole nation of being able to see their best players play for Fiji…. Every second player in NZ and AUS teams has Fijian surnames… shame on you!!! World rugby won’t step in either as France and England has now also joined in…. I guess where money is involved it will always be the poor countries missing out….
84 Go to commentsNo surprise there. How hard can it be to pick a ball off the ground and chuck it to a mate? 😂
2 Go to commentsSometimes people just like a moan mate!
4 Go to commentsexcellent idea ! rugby needs this 💪
13 Go to comments9 Brumbies! What a joke! The best performing team in Oz! Ditch Skelton for Swain or Neville. Ryan Lonergan ahead of McDermott any day! Best selection bolter is Toole … amazing player
12 Go to commentsI like this, but ultimately rugby already has enough trophies. Trying to make more games “consequential" might prove to be a fools errand, although this is a less bad idea than some others. Minor quibble with the title of the article; it isn’t very meaningful to say the boks are the unofficial world champions when it would be functionally impossible for the Raeburn trophy not to be held by the world champions. There’s a period of a few months every 4 years when there is no “unofficial” world champion, and the Raeburn trophy is held by the actual world champions.
13 Go to commentsIts a great idea but one that I dont think will have a lot of traction. It will depend on the prestige that they each hold but if you can do that it would be great. When Japan beat the Boks (my team) I was absolutely devestated but I wont deny the great game they played that day. We were outclassed and it was one of the best games of rugby I have seen. Using an idea like this you might just give the the underdog teams more of an opportunity to beat the big teams and I can absolutely see it being a brilliant display of rugby. They beat us because they planned for that game. It was a great moment for Japan. This way we can remove the 4 year wait and give teams something to aim for outside of World Cup years.
13 Go to commentsHi, Dave here. Happy to answer questions 🥰
13 Go to commentsDon’t think that headline is accurate. It’s great to see Aus doing better but I’m not sure they’ve shown much threat to the top of the table. They shouldn’t be inflating wins against the lousy Highlanders and Crusaders either.
3 Go to commentsSuch a shame Roigard and Aumua picked up long term injuries, probably the two form players in the comp. Also, pretty sure Clarke Dermody isn’t their coach. Got it half right though.
3 Go to commentsOh the Aussie media, they never learn. At least Andrew Kellaway is like “Woah, yeah it’s great, but settle down there guys” having endured years of the Aussie media, fans, and often their players getting ahead of themselves only to fall flat on their faces. Have the “We'll win the Bledisloe for sure this year!” headlines started yet? It’s simple to see what’s going on. The Aussie teams are settled, they didn't lose any of their major players overseas. The Crusaders and Chiefs lost key experienced All Blacks, and Razor in the Crusaders case, and clearly neither are anywhere near as strong as last year (The Canes and Blues would probably be 3rd & 4th if they were). The Highlanders are annually average, even more so post-Aaron Smith and a big squad clean out. The two teams at the top? The two nz sides with largely the same settled roster as last year, except Ardie Savea for the Canes. They’ve both got far better coaches now too. If the Aussies are going to win the title, this is the year the kiwi sides will be weakest, so they better take their chance.
3 Go to commentsThe World Cup has to be the gold standard, line in the sand. 113 teams compete for what is the opportunity to make the pool stages, and then the knockout games for the trophy. The concept is sound. This must have been the rationale when the World Cup was created, surely? But I’m all for Looking forward and finding new ways for the SH to dominate the NH into the future. The autumn series needs a change up. Let’s start by having the NH teams come south every odd year for the Autumn/Spring series games?
13 Go to commentsWhat’ll happen when the AI models of the future go back in time and try to destroy the AI models of the past standing in their way of certain victory?
45 Go to comments