England beat Ireland 20-9 in Dublin dogfight
Tries from Manu Tuilagi and Delon Armitage saw England to a 20-9 victory over Ireland in torrid conditions at the Aviva Stadium.
The game was marred by an injury to David Wallace, the forward having to be stretchered off early in the first half.
England have worries of their own, with Mark Cueto, Mike Tindall and Hendre Fourie all picking up knocks.
First Half
England dominated the possession from the opening kick-off, recycling the ball well and consistently getting over the gain line, allowing their opponents no time on the ball.
Manu Tuilagi celebrated his world cup selection with a wonderful try, breaking the Irish defensive line to run through for a simple try, Wilkinson adding the conversion.
Penalties were exchanged by either side before Irish forward David Wallace was stretchered off with a nasty looking injury.
Mark Cueto was then replaced by Armitage after pulling up lame early on.
Having turned down two penalty opportunities, O'Gara kicked a further two penalties to Wilkinson's one leaving it 13-9 at the half.
Second Half
Despite repeat infringements at the breakdown, England started well after half time, defending well.
Chris Ashton was then the victim of England's errors as his wrongdoing at the ruck saw him sent to the sinbin.
That didn't halt the England charge though and good work from Mike Tindall saw his grubber kick find Armitage who scored brilliantly. Wilkinson added the extras taking his personal tally to 10 points.
As the rain began to lash down, England focussed on defence and as hard as Ireland pushed, England kept the door firmly locked.
Ashton returned with Ireland on the attack and his side were able to hold out and clear, keeping the Irish at bay.
England held on for the victory, eventually winning through 20-9 as they rounded of their warm-up schedule for next month's world cup.
Final Score Ireland 9-20 England
Man of the Match: Mike Tindall
England will head out to New Zealand happy with their performance and full of confidence after their performance.
While it was ugly at times, the defensive effort was brilliant given the conditions and the partnership of Tindall and the Tuilagi looks promising. Ireland on the other hand have that losing feeling and have plenty to sort ahead of the world cup.
Saying that they were without big names like Sean O'Brien and talisman Brian O'Driscoll, and will be hoping David Wallace's injury is not as bad as is feared.
