Six Nations 2020: England 24-12 Ireland

England put themselves firmly in the hunt for the Six Nations title and ended Ireland’s Grand Slam dream with a 24-12 victory at Twickenham.

Coach Eddie Jones had thrown a curveball with his team selection, in particular the decision to deploy Jonathan Joseph on the wing, but few were left questioning his wisdom at full-time.

With France having beaten reigning champions Wales on Saturday to pile the pressure on both of these teams, it was the hosts – winners over Scotland in atrocious conditions last time out – who responded in style on Sunday to fuel their ambitions.

Ireland coach Andy Farrell will have had his sights set on a clean sweep of victories in the championship after wins over Scotland and Wales, but those hopes were dashed by a team starring his son Owen.

George Ford’s early try, facilitated by a Johnny Sexton error that characterised a rare off day for the fly-half, set the tone, with Elliot Daly touching down in not dissimilar circumstances before the break.

Robbie Henshaw darted over in the second half but any prospect of an Ireland comeback was ended when Luke Cowan-Dickie’s converted try restored England’s advantage, rendering Andrew Porter’s stoppage-time score a mere consolation.

FORDY 

What a start at HQ #ENGvIRE #CarryThemHome #GuinnessSixNations pic.twitter.com/mgBzrZC0qq

— England Rugby (@EnglandRugby) February 23, 2020

England, whose only Six Nations loss at Twickenham in the last 19 matches came against Ireland in 2018, started with remarkable intensity and soon got their reward.

Sexton, who later badly fluffed his lines from a penalty, fumbled from Ben Youngs’ grubber kick and Ford was on hand to gather the loose ball and touch down.

Daly was similarly alert to get on the end of Ford’s searching kick as Jacob Stockdale was caught off guard, while Owen Farrell added six first-half points with the boot to leave Ireland with a mountain to climb as, in 21 matches between the nations in this competition, no side had ever overcome a half-time deficit to win.

Ireland did prove far more determined after the break and Henshaw broke through the line to cap a prolonged spell of pressure, but Sexton’s kick was again wayward.

Sensing the job was not yet done, England attacked with renewed vigour and Cowan-Dickie was the beneficiary of some excellent forward play as he crossed the line and Owen Farrell added the extras, with John Cooney doing likewise after Porter’s last-gasp try.

Flying start sets the tone for England

It was a painfully slow start that cost England so badly in the opening defeat to France, but there was no sign of any such complacency on this occasion.

England were up and at Ireland from the first whistle and, after their initial momentum was halted by a fumble from the otherwise outstanding Courtney Lawes, the hosts were quickly on the front foot again, opening the scoring via a combination of the quick-thinking Youngs ​– making his 100th Test appearance – the ever-alert Ford, and the unusually flustered Sexton.

Sorry Sexton human after all

He is one of the very best in world rugby, but that does not mean Sexton is immune to error. He demonstrated that twice in the opening quarter of an hour, which proved a microcosm of the whole contest.

First he treated Youngs’ kick through the middle like a hot potato, eventually palming it to the grateful Ford, then he shanked a three-pointer from the tee in a manner quite unbecoming. Another miscue followed in the second half to compound Sexton’s woes.

Ford focused… England fly-half George Ford reacts quickest as he gets to the ball for the sharpest of scores#ENGvIRE #GuinnessSixNations pic.twitter.com/hUdLk3oq0c

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

Key Opta Facts

– England have won nine of their last 12 meetings with Ireland in all competitions (L3), including each of their last three in a row.
– England led 17-0 at half-time in this game, their biggest lead against Ireland at the break in a Six Nations match since 2002, when they led 31-6, before going on to win 45-11.
– Elliot Daly scored his fifth try in just six games against Ireland, only Rory Underwood (seven tries in 14 games) and Cyril Lowe (six tries in six games) have more for England against Ireland.
– Ben Youngs won his 100th Test cap and also made his 98th appearance for England in the process (also two Lions caps), moving past Dylan Hartley as the country’s second most capped player, behind Jason Leonard (114).
– Sam Underhill made 21 tackles in this game, more than any other player in the Six Nations this weekend; only Maro Itoje (22 versus Scotland) has made more in a match for England in this campaign.

What’s next?

England welcome Wales to west London in round four on March 7, while Ireland return to Dublin to host whipping boys Italy on the same day. 

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