Five takeaways from England v Ireland

Adam Kyriacou

Following a 24-12 victory for England over Ireland in their Six Nations game, here’s our five takeaways from the fixture at Twickenham.

Decisions, decisions: When England’s two decision makers, Owen Farrell and George Ford gel, so their team follow. England’s ability to change plays, switch kicks, change direction and swap tactics was on another level to that of Ireland. Whilst the English forwards had a great day of ball winning, so the two Lancastrian school chums had a fine day of ball usage. England’s variety in midfield and ability to quickly change the point of attack was rapier in the first 20 minutes and the control of their midfield axis won them the game before half time.

Tables turned: England today played a game the Irish would have been proud of. Pinpoint aerial pressure, dogged chasing and absolutely brutal at the breakdown, this was a compelling performance that Andy Farrell would have been envious of. The pressure placed upon the Irish back three early on was immense and showed that England could rule the airways just as much at their opponents. It’s not often Peter O’Mahony and his cronies are out-fought at the breakdown and it says everything about England’s planning today that they beat Ireland at their own game.

A name, not a number: In all Eddie Jones’ contrarianism in selection this season, the back-row debate has raged long and hard for most of the year. Yes, question marks remain over Tom Curry as a number eight, but there’s a danger that Courtney Lawes’ excellence at blindside is becoming absolutely overlooked by the English followers. With his lineout work both towering and compelling, the Saint was also supreme in carry and tackle in the first half. Undoubtedly galvanised by some of the unfair criticism over his role he put in a performance to remember on his 31st birthday and was rightly man of the match. When we criticise the imbalance of Jones’ back-row selections, let’s not continually castigate the one player that redresses that imbalance.

Growing old together: It’s been a long and successful road for Conor Murray and Johnny Sexton. The Lions half-backs have ruled rugby fields around the globe for a decade or more, but today that journey saw the end in sight. Murray was ponderous and static in pass and kick, a shadow of the scrum-half of two or three years ago; Sexton’s basic skillset looked ponderous and his legs heavy. Ireland looked a different side when Ulsterman John Cooney entered the fray and unremarkably, this coincided with Ireland’s best period in the game. It’s sad to see two world class players coming to the conclusion of their glittering careers, but for Ireland to progress, Cooney now needs to be given the nod.

Impact: Ireland’s rejuvenation in the second half looked threatening until on came Ellis Genge and Luke Cowan-Dickie. Genge was so explosive it’s a wonder the Twickenham sniffer dogs didn’t prevent him from entering the stadium and once again, his punchy attitude benefitted England immensely. Combine this with three little cameos from Ben Earl, Charlie Ewels and Joe Launchbury and the depth of England’s replacements had a quantum and positive impact upon the result.

by James While