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Late Marcus Smith drop goal extinguishes Ireland's Grand Slam dream
By Josh Raisey
A Marcus Smith drop goal in the final play of the game secured England a 23-22 win over Guinness Six Nations leaders Ireland, ending the visitors’ hopes of back-to-back Grand Slams.
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It was a significant improvement from Steve Borthwick’s side from the first three rounds of the Championship, or indeed any match of his tenure.
Ireland started the match like a team chasing a Grand Slam, and were able to notch three points on the board after only two minutes following a series of sniping runs around the breakdown.
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But England bounced back from the early penalty to score the first and only try of the first half through Ollie Lawrence.
A George Ford penalty ten minutes later extended England’s lead to 8-3, but Ireland were able to capitalise on the hosts’ increasing ill-discipline, and built a 12-8 half-time lead through the boot of Jack Crowley.
Ireland looked as though they were going to pull away early in the second half following a James Lowe try, but England were able to respond within minutes through George Furbank. With both tries unconverted, a four-point gap was restored.
England had regained the momentum, and a yellow card to Ireland captain Peter O’Mahony after a Ben Earl break gifted England a chance to kick for the corner and go for the try. The hosts were able to deliver, with player of the match Earl scoring and Ford converting to give England a 20-17 lead with 20 minutes remaining.
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With a full squad back on the field, Ireland fired back in the final ten minutes, with Lowe scoring his second of the match to leave Ireland with a 22-20 lead heading into the final minutes.
After a long range penalty from Elliot Daly went wayward, it appeared Ireland would hold on for the win before England launched a late surge on Ireland’s line. With a penalty advantage, Smith avoided the tension of a last-play penalty by kicking a drop goal from in front of the posts to send a raucous Twickenham crowd wild.
Ireland remain at the top of the Six Nations table ahead of a home fixture against Scotland in round five, but their hopes of making history with back-to-back Grand Slams were dashed by an England team that were vastly improved from the one that lost the Calcutta Cup in round three.
So, are England the best team in the world now or….
No Irish pundit ever said that. But even NZ were rated as best as they choked their way through RWC history. Its OK to lose an occasional match
This why we love rugby. Plus it give Bokke big breathing space at no 1 ranking.
1 South Africa 94.54
2 Ireland 90.69 (-1.42)
with a big win Ireland could have gone to 92.98
Ireland will have to win twice in SA. Yesterday's loss may make Ireland better….but it will help Bokke too
Must be depressing winning everything except the ones that actually count.
When we win the Slam last year (beating a French team waaay better than NZ in a pressure game) it doesnt count. When we lose an individual match.. suddenly it counts.
Does winning the series in NZ count?
Sahhhh now troll
Ireland a formidable team but today showed they have some way to go to be in the conversation for best in the world. Dominated physically, with creaking set pieces. Discipline also failed them when England put on the pressure. All areas the World Champions are particularly good at. No disgrace in losing to England at Twickenham but certainly a wake-up call.
Agreed. England were even able to use Ireland’s lineout as attacking platforms. See Earl's try.
Ireland could argue that even with the pressure a lot went wrong including injuries to backs. But..pressure. Also I think Englands attack will develop and become more potent. That was potentially a 10-15 point win.
And a few days ago they were compared to the best ever All Blacks 🤣. These guys !! What an aweful travesty to rugby
They were compared only in terms of winning mindset. That can now be questioned, but it was one verbal comment in one podcast among dozens.
Troll
England proved that Ireland are one dimensional by shutting them down completely and Ireland had no plan B whatsoever. So much for the self-proclaimed “best in the world team” who have yet to do better than a quarter final place at a RWC.
Yeah … I think your analysis might be a bit simplistic, mate. Ireland is a very well balanced team. They might have underestimated England, given their dominance in this year’s 6N and England’s relatively poor showing until today.
And, don’t forget, England needed a drop in injury time to win it.
Your ‘self-proclaimed’ comment is false and/or dishonest. No Irish journalist or pundit has called them the best team in the world. That was exclusively British journalists, I think the British coach also said it yesterday. The English captain said it after the match. Maybe edit your post?
#icare
#Italia
Before anyone claims I’m being a sore loser congrats to England, we didn’t play as well as we could have in part because of how well England played. However, the fact that Genges clear out of furlong around the 30th minute wasn’t checked is beyond me, comes in at speed, arm tucked hits Furlong in the face with his shoulder and sends him flying back holding his face, I respect furlong for getting on with it but still should’ve been looked at. If you haven’t seen it go have a look it’s very clearly a card. Yellow or red is a debate that I don’t want to get into but anyone with sense should see that it’s a card.
See also Joe McCarthy's high tackle on Genge. Can play this game all night.
Wow, two incredible test matches today!
I was convinced Ireland had done enough to pull it out of the fire but, damn, those English forwards just don’t know about giving up. Kudos to England. They were order of magnitude better than the bunch that turned up last time.
But do not dismiss Ireland. They are still a formidable team with a great coach and this little hiccup will probably stand them in good stead to grow as a team.
This is why test match rugby is so awesome!
Congratulations to England. Better team won. They targeted our lineout and their physicality meant Ireland never were comfortable and I thought England were comfortable in possession. We nearly stole it but kudos for England for fighting to the end and getting the reward. Maybe Ireland arent the best team in the world after all.
I had thought England would use the first 3 matches to develop their system on the hoof then targeting the Ireland game after two weeks of coordination training. Different result last week and they would be playing for the grand slam next week. Borthwick looking a bit smarter now.
Despite Danny Care’s best efforts to kick the ball away aimlessly. And some terrible decisions and execution around penalty kicks - England played an exceptional game of rugby. Always looked like they could score another when charging at the line. The rush defence worked well and bothered the Irish terribly. The English Forwards were immense tonight.
Ireland looked flat on attack. Poor handling. I thought Crowley was poor on defence. Lineouts were a mess.
Marcus Smith must surely be given a run at 10! Ford and Furbank should be benched. And Borthwick and co. Should be left alone by the negative media to continue building this team.
Care and Daly coming on and doing their best to shin the game away was horrific.
Furbank played a part in a lot of the good England did. He's still making errors but having a 15 who can play with ball in hand and look for gaps instead of contact brings a lot of opportunity. England need to be patient with him.
But according to the media Ireland are the best team in the world?
Aren’t they the real world champions…?