England triumphed over Ireland with a score of 23-22. Just five weeks before, it seemed as though Ireland was undoubtedly destined to prevail, having an edge akin to the All Blacks during their triumphant World Cup quarter-final. While Ireland couldn’t replicate that level of performance for this match, they nevertheless displayed commendable tenacity and a gift for finding ways to succeed, albeit momentarily.
Ireland should perceive England’s vigorous and precise offence, unseen since their 2019 victory over the All Blacks, as a compliment. Indeed, England’s strong performance, fuelled by both respect and intimidation towards their opponents, was reminiscent of their past successes.
The home squad’s ecstasy could be heard from the home supporters, a level of enthusiasm unhindered over the years. Ireland’s prowess, likened to the All Blacks during their apex in the Tri-Nations tournaments, incited this reaction. In the context of European rugby, Ireland are the team everyone is seeking to beat.
England’s victory was characterised by a cleverly executed try set in motion by George Furbank’s counter-attacks. Together with George Ford and Henry Slade’s slick manoeuvres, they paved the way for Ollie Lawrence to seal the deal. Moreover, they launched multiple attacks within the Irish 22. Yet, thanks to impressive defending from Josh van der Flier, Bundee Aki, Tadhg Beirne and Dan Sheehan, Ireland held the lead with a 12-8 score at the end of the first half.
In spite of England’s rapid defensive advances, Jack Crowley’s three penalties and a fourth from a 46-metre distance courtesy of Aki’s exertion gave Ireland the upper hand.
From a post-match perspective, Andy Farrell articulated their half time talk centered on upgrading territorial and possession strategies. He confessed they might have been overly eager to solve problems independently rather than cohesively. The takeaway involved questions about surroundings at the breakdown, individual offside status, and the type of defensive system to communicate.
The disjointed nature of the game allowed for opportunities to be exploited, a point that became evident when it was Ireland’s turn to seize the advantage. After scoring their first goal through James Lowe, they had a comfortable lead of 17-8. The exceptional Hugo Keenan managed to reclaim the throw in from Jamison Gibson-Park, while Tadhg Furlong cleverly handed the ball over to Crowley who then masterfully executed a delayed pass, enabling Caelan Doris to get hold of the ball. The technique and precision of Aki, Robbie Henshaw and Ciarán Frawley’s passes, combined with Lowe’s finishing touch, were impressive.
However, Ireland soon lost their grasp on the game. The team made the same mistakes Farrell had pointed out to them during halftime, and once again they were outmanoeuvred on the field. An interesting parallel was that Gibson-Park threw the ball to the centre of the field, just as Lowe had done before the first try was scored. As Ford handed the ball to Slade and Lawrence was taken down by Keenan, Immanuel Feyi-Waboso made a diagonal countermove. The Irish players, all 11 of them within a 10 meter radius, lost focus and were drawn towards the ball, leaving vital areas undefended.
Consequently, skillful passes from Jamie George and Ford left the Irish defence overwhelmed. Joe McCarthy’s premature reaction left only Furlong and Gibson-Park on the defense against the onslaught of English players. The precise passes from Sam Undwerhill and Maro Itoje bypassed Lowe’s defense and gave Furbank an easy shot at the goal line.
From that point on, Ireland’s control over the game weakened considerably, further worsened by mistakes in lineout throws and a brilliant breakthrough from Ben Earl, not to mention Peter O’Mahony earning himself a yellow card. The Irish offense wasn’t performing as well as it usually does, but they managed to counterattack England’s power play and an Earl try with another exceptional performance by Lowe in the left corner.
The impact of O’Mahony’s booking limited Ryan Baird, who was experiencing Test defeat for the first time, to the field for just twelve minutes. Nevertheless, Baird managed to set up Rónan Kelleher for another jackal penalty due to his tackle on Furbank. This was followed by an effective launch play where Aki continued the move to Henshaw. Soon after, Henderson made a pivot which allowed Crowley and Gibson-Park to enable Lowe’s second sprint for the corner.
One must take into account the challenging wind when considering Crowley’s second failed conversion from the touchline, as exemplified by the seven points Ford left on the pitch. Additionally, the intense atmosphere created by England’s fervent crowd and team put Ireland on a backfoot and once Murray’s kick went out of bounds, the overwhelming certainty of the outcome was clear. Had England needed to score a try in the closing stages, they likely could have done so, even with the disadvantage of being down a player due to Chandler Cunningham-South’s departure.
Ireland appeared noticeably perturbed throughout the game, due to either the aggression of the English team or the magnitude of what was at stake, or perhaps a mix of both. However, the prospect of retaining the title on their home turf provided some consolation for Van der Flier.
He talked of the team’s appreciation for the unfailing support from the Irish populace regardless of the sport, be it football, rugby, or anything else. He reminisced how winning last year’s tournament at home was a special moment, capped off with grand celebrations. His words concluded with a keen focus on not getting carried away, but maintaining the added incentive to give it their all in the subsequent match.