'The best performance in an England shirt I've been involved in' - Jonny May

Henry Slade scored a second-half double as ruthless England consigned Six Nations champions Ireland to a first home defeat for over two years with a 32-20 bonus-point victory in Dublin.

Joe Schmidt’s side started the defence of their title as firm favourites to retain it, but the 2018 Grand Slam winners were beaten for the first time on home soil since losing to New Zealand in November 2016.

Jonny May set the tone by scoring inside two minutes and Elliot Daly took advantage of a mistake from Jacob Stockdale to add another after Cian Healy touched down.

“We always want to start fast,” May told RugbyPass.

“It’s how we train, it’s how Eddie prepares us. We want to go out there and impose ourselves straight from the off. We executed our set piece and everyone did their role and I got put in the corner.”

The lively Slade crossed twice for Eddie Jones’ side and Owen Farrell scored 12 points with the boot as Ireland’s 12-match winning run at the Aviva Stadium came to a juddering halt.

A second Johnny Sexton penalty and late converted John Cooney try and were all Ireland could muster after the interval as they were outplayed by a hugely impressive England side.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BtY_k9kAT73/

England silenced the majority of a raucous crowd by taking the lead just 90 seconds in, Farrell whipping a brilliant cut-out pass for Daly, who fed May on his outside for a superbly worked try.

Tom Curry was sent to the sin bin for a late hit on Keith Earls and Ireland had their opening try just after he returned when Healy dotted down, and Sexton slotted through the conversion.

England responded well to that setback and produced another slick move to go clear, Stockdale juggling the ball under pressure from Jack Nowell and Daly racing onto his own kick to punish the prolific Ireland wing.

Slade gave clinical England breathing space when he darted to get on the end of a clever May kick to finish, then snaffled a stray pass from Sexton to rub salt into the wounds with a bonus-point try five minutes from time after a long-range Farrell penalty.

Winger Jonny May credited England’s win to the work rate within the group and their preparation pre-game.

“We were clear in our game plan, and to a man, we executed that plan,” he said.

“It’s brilliant that we have had a few guys back from injury, that obviously helped.

“It was probably the best performance in an England shirt that I’ve been involved in. That’s promising, it shows us as a team we are learning and improving.

MAGNIFICENT MAKO DRIVES ENGLAND

Mako Vunipola was outstanding in a brilliant all-round display for England, making an astonishing 25 tackles and 11 carries. The prop was denied a try on the stroke of half-time for a double movement, but was named man-of-the-match for an outstanding performance.

IRELAND’S AERIAL BOMBARDMENT FAILS TO TAKE OFF

Much was made of the aerial bombardment that Daly would face after he was given the nod at full-back, but he and May were largely assured under the high ball as Sexton and Conor Murray were not allowed to dictate the play by England.

Ireland were up against it and they breathed a sigh of relief on the stroke of half-time when Mako Vunipola had a try – which was initially awarded – ruled out by Jerome Garces for a double movement following consultation with the TMO, with England having to settle for a Farrell penalty that gave them a seven-point lead at the break.

Jordan Larmour replaced Earls at the interval and Sexton reduced the deficit to four points before Farrell was off target from the tee, with Maro Itoje and Devin Toner limping out of what continued to be a fierce tussle.

However, Slade’s try proved to be a pivotal blow that Ireland couldn’t strike back from until Cooney burst through to go over right at the end for a try that Sexton quickly converted, but England already had a deserved victory in the bag.

It's been an unforgettable day ?

THANK YOU for your support ?#IREvENG #CarryThemHome ? pic.twitter.com/PwFUjn1i0q

— England Rugby (@EnglandRugby) February 2, 2019

OPTA FACTS

– England’s opening try was their first in Dublin since Delon Armitage crossed in 2011 in a Rugby World Cup warm-up game, they had failed to score a five-pointer in their three previous visits.

– Wing May has scored nine tries for England since the beginning of 2018, only Rieko Ioane has scored more in Test rugby during that time.

WHAT’S NEXT?

England host France, wounded by a second-half collapse against Wales, on Sunday and Ireland take on Scotland at Murrayfield on Saturday.