Ireland 20 -32 England: Jones’ men show they are in it to win it

England stunned reigning Six Nations champions Ireland 32-20 with a first win in Dublin for six years.
Henry Slade touches down in the second half to seal Englands victory. Below, Owen Farrell was on target with the boot. Photograph: Getty ImagesHenry Slade touches down in the second half to seal Englands victory. Below, Owen Farrell was on target with the boot. Photograph: Getty Images
Henry Slade touches down in the second half to seal Englands victory. Below, Owen Farrell was on target with the boot. Photograph: Getty Images

Leading 17-13 in an epic opening-weekend title showdown that lived up to expectations, they engineered the decisive moment in the 66th minute when Henry Slade and Jonny May combined brilliantly from a scrum for Slade to touch down.

It was a try made possible by the pace of May, who along with Jack Nowell on the opposite wing was magnificent throughout an afternoon of drama and high-quality rugby.

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Owen Farrell was on target with a penalty to put the game beyond Ireland’s reach as the Aviva Stadium was stormed for the first time in the Six Nations since 2013, securing Eddie Jones’ 29th win in 36 Tests.

Joe Schmidt’s Grand Slam champions fell apart in the closing stages, enabling Slade to plunder his second try, before replacement John Cooney restored some scoreboard credibility in the final seconds.

England bristled with intent when in possession and benefited from the return of Mako and Billy Vunipola and centre Manu Tuilagi.

An enthralling victory took a savage toll, however, as Maro Itoje and Kyle Sinckler limped off in the second half.

The speed of England’s ball, combined with a line-out thrown straight to Tuilagi, enabled the Irish whitewash to be breached after only 92 seconds through May.

Tuilagi was repeatedly involved in the early onslaught but it also took an injection of pace and a well-timed pass from Daly to send May over for England’s first try in Dublin since 2011.

Tom Curry was sent to the sin-bin for a late tackle on Keith Earls shortly after Johnny Sexton landed a penalty and Ireland’s slow start was now a distant memory as the green shirts poured forward.

The hapless Earls was then clattered heavily by Itoje as he lined up a catch, incurring another penalty to dent English momentum.

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Ireland were showing trademark mastery of keeping possession and this in turn caused ripples of panic in their opponents as the game’s frenzied pace continued.

Cian Healy burrowed over for a try from a line-out that rewarded the bold decision to opt for touch instead of the posts, but England were back in front on the half-hour mark when Daly touched down his own kick.

It was Jones’ men who finished the half stronger, pounding away at the whitewash before Farrell kicked a penalty.

England began to suffocate Ireland by using kicks and their big pack to keep them pinned in their own half and when the opportunity presented itself they attacked with precision.

One assault broke down, however, when Farrell was on the receiving end of a hard tackle by Ringrose and suddenly they were defending.

It proved to be a costly passage of play as Sexton slotted a penalty to narrow the lead to 17-13 before Itoje limped off – soon to be joined by Sinckler.

But England wrested back control brilliantly and the key try was a work of art. A scrum gave Slade the ball and he fed a pinpoint long pass to the sprinting May, who kicked ahead for Slade to touch down – timing his onside run to perfection.

Slade then picked off Sexton’s pass before Cooney had the final say.