Ireland overpower England to secure bonus-point victory

Ireland 27-22 England, Aviva Stadium

Ireland began their Six Nations campaign in emphatic fashion, rallying from an early deficit to defeat England 27-22 in a high-intensity contest at the Aviva Stadium.

A dominant second-half performance saw the defending champions claim a crucial bonus-point win, setting the tone for their title defense.

England wasted no time asserting themselves, with Marcus Smith orchestrating early attacking moves that kept Ireland on the back foot. The visitors struck first when debutant Cadan Murley latched onto a well-placed kick from Henry Slade, sprinting past Josh van der Flier to touch down. Smith added the conversion, giving England a 7-0 lead.

Ireland responded quickly but saw an early try disallowed, with the TMO ruling that Tadhg Beirne was off his feet at the breakdown before Ronan Kelleher crossed the line. England’s disciplined defensive effort kept Ireland at bay, despite Smith receiving a yellow card for offside.

The hosts finally broke through when James Lowe powered through Alex Mitchell before finding Jamison Gibson-Park in support. The scrum-half sidestepped Freddie Steward to score a brilliant try, though Sam Prendergast’s missed conversion meant England maintained a slender 7-5 advantage.

As halftime approached, England’s Ben Earl surged through Ireland’s defensive line, forcing a penalty that Smith converted, extending England’s lead to 10-5 at the break.

The tide turned early in the second half when Bundee Aki bulldozed through multiple England defenders to level the score at 10-10. Ireland took their first lead minutes later when England were penalized for contact in the air, allowing Prendergast to slot a penalty and put the hosts ahead 13-10.

Ireland struck again in the 63rd minute with a clever interplay between Gibson-Park and Lowe. The winger exploited a gap in England’s defense before offloading to Beirne, who finished the move for Ireland’s third try. Replacement Jack Crowley converted, stretching the lead to 20-10.

With England struggling for possession, Ireland capitalized once more as Lowe burst through and set up replacement hooker Dan Sheehan for the decisive bonus-point try. Crowley’s conversion pushed the score to 27-10, sealing a comprehensive victory.

England salvaged some pride with a late try from Tom Curry, set up by Ollie Lawrence’s strong offload. However, Smith’s missed conversion left the score at 27-15. Tommy Freeman added another try in the dying moments, but it was too little, too late for England.

Ireland will look to build on this commanding performance as they target another Grand Slam, while England will need to regroup before their next challenge in the championship.

Team line up:

Ireland: Keenan; Hansen, Ringrose, Aki, Lowe; Prendergast, Gibson-Park; Porter, Kelleher, Bealham, Ryan, Beirne, Baird, Van der Flier, Doris (capt).

Reserves: Sheehan, Healy, Clarkson, Henderson, Conan, Murray, Crowley, Henshaw.

England: Steward; Freeman, Lawrence, Slade, Murley; M Smith, Mitchell; Genge, Cowan-Dickie, Stuart, Itoje (capt), Martin, T Curry, B Curry, Earl.

Reserves: Dan, Baxter, Heyes, Chessum, Cunningham-South, Willis, Randall, F Smith.