England turned the Six Nations on its head with a stirring victory at Twickenham in undoubtedly the best match of the tournament thus far. Both sides were up for it from the kickoff, and though the scores remained low it was not for lack of endeavour. Each made critical errors of judgement and execution at key moments that kept points at a premium.
In fact it was the two generals, Owen Farrell and Jonny Sexton, who were the chief culprits. Farrell butchered a 4-on-2 overlap that should have been a walk in try, but instead ended in a Jonny May knock-on over the line. Sexton attempted an highly speculative cross kick that surrendered possession in prime scoring position. There were other examples, but those two stick out like a sore thumb. Both will be kicking themselves during the match debriefing.
Farrell’s penalty midway through the first half held the slimmest of margins heading into the break, but a furious breakout by Ireland yielded a brilliant set-move try for Rob Kearney, and then Sexton extended the lead with his own penalty a few minutes later. It seemed as though Ireland were poised to make their move but Farrell replied and then straight from the restart Danny Care followed up a brilliant Mike Brown break in what proved to be the decisive move of the match.
The two combatants tore into each other for the final quarter but neither could put the game to rest, and in the end the home team claimed a famous victory to bring Ireland’s grand slam hopes to a screeching halt. Joe Schmidt’s men may yet go on to claim the championship, but this could prove to be a watershed moment for Stuart Lancaster’s young warriors. They showed huge composure to break that terrible second half opening spell, and have now risen to true contender status.
Ireland will be hugely disappointed that they didn’t come away with the win after spending a significant majority of the second half in English territory. They dominated the set pieces and yet could muster only a solitary try. Presuming they get through Italy in a fortnight unscathed, their fate now resides in Paris, a foreboding place where they haven’t won since Brian O’Driscoll’s heroic performance some 14 years ago. The task seemed tall enough before the match. All of a sudden it looks almost unscalable.
ENGLAND 13 vs 10 IRELAND
Saturday, February 22, 16:00 GMT, London
SCORING
24 mins – O. Farrell pen 3-0
42 mins – R. Kearney try 3-5
43 mins – J. Sexton con 3-7
49 mins – J. Sexton pen 3-10
54 mins – O. Farrell pen 6-10
56 mins – D. Care try 11-10
57 mins – O. Farrell con 13-10
ENGLAND
M. Brown; J. Nowell, L. Burrell, B. Twelvetrees, J. May; O. Farrell, D. Care; J. Marler (M. Vunipola 64), D. Hartley (T. Youngs 75), D. Wilson (H. Thomas 70); J. Launchbury, C. Lawes; T. Wood (D. Attwood 70), C. Robshaw (capt.), B. Vunipola (B. Morgan 36).
IRELAND
R. Kearney; A. Trimble (F. McFadden 65), B. O’Driscoll (P. Jackson 79), G. D’Arcy, D. Kearney; J. Sexton, C. Murray (I. Boss 79); C. Healy (J. McGrath 72), R. Best (S. Cronin 74), M. Ross (M. Moore 62); D. Toner, P. O’Connell (capt.); P. O’Mahony (I. Henderson 70), C. Henry (J. Murphy 74), J. Heaslip.
Referee: C. Joubert (SARU)
Assistants: R. Poite (FFR) & Leighton Hodges (WRU)
TMO: J. Yuille (SRU)
