Simon Easterby’s men made lots of errors but Dan Sheehan and co. got the job done
THERE WERE TIMES in the first half that interim head coach Simon Easterby must have worried that his side’s inaccuracy in the English 22 would cost them the game, but Ireland came through an intense tussle with the Auld Enemy to get their bid for a third consecutive Six Nations title off to a winning start.
There was one big injury concern for Ireland as tighthead prop Finlay Bealham limped off in the second half, having started in the absence of the injured Tadhg Furlong. The inexperienced Thomas Clarkson did well off the bench but losing such nous at tighthead is a worry. England out-half Marcus Smith was impressive and the combination of Tom and Ben Curry in the back row was effective at the breakdown but ultimately, the visitors faded out of the game for an important period in the second half. They did grab two late scores to earn a losing bonus point, another frustration for Ireland.
Advertisement Smith’s smooth conversion had England 7-0 up but they invited Ireland straight back in when they dropped the restart cold. Five minutes of intense Irish pressure followed in the English 22 but they left empty-handed when Rónan Kelleher’s try was correctly chalked off for Beirne holding Itoje into the breakdown to create space for his hooker.
Easterby must have been stressing over the lack of return on good territory but Ireland finally found the opening just before Smith returned from the bin. It seemed as though another attack would peter out when Ringrose swung the ball wide to Lowe but he spotted Mitchell in front of him and blasted through the English scrum-half before finding Gibson-Park on the inside. The Irish number nine had work to do but calmly stepped back inside the overcashing Steward to dot down.
Easterby responded by sending on Conan and Sheehan, who added instant oomph with two powerful carries. Ireland sensed momentum on their side and after a poor clearance to touch by Murley, they struck for their second score.The forwards narrowed England up in midfield before Prendergast pulled the trigger and swept the ball wide left to Aki, who produced an outstanding finish past Smith, Mitchell, and Tommy Freeman, reaching out to dot down in the left corner.
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