Ireland fight back to sink England in Dublin showdown
Yesterday at 02:01 PM
MATCH REPORT: Ireland had to come from behind as they launched their bid for an unprecedented third successive Six Nations title with a hard-fought 27-22 win over England in Dublin on Saturday.
The reigning champions trailed 5-10 at half-time. But tries from Bundee Aki, Tadhg Beirne and Dan Sheehan took Ireland into a 27-10 lead before Tom Curry and Tommy Freeman went over for England late in the game.
More to follow...
Man of the match: Wing James Lowe and scrumhalf Jamison Gibson-Park were the stars of the show. We think they should share the award.
Moment of the match: Bundee Aki's finish in the corner got the entire stadium standing up.
Villian: No one
The scorers:
For Ireland:
Tries: Gibson-Park, Aki, Beirne, Sheehan
Cons: Crowley 2
Pen: Prendergast
For England:
Tries: Murley, T Curry, Freeman
Cons: Smith 2
Pen: Smith
Yellow card: Marcus Smith (England, 25' - repeated infringements, offside)
Teams:
Ireland: 15 Hugo Keenan, 14 Mack Hansen, 13 Garry Ringrose, 12 Bundee Aki, 11 James Lowe, 10 Sam Prendergast, 9 Jamison Gibson-Park, 8 Caelan Doris (captain), 7 Josh van der Flier, 6 Ryan Baird, 5 Tadhg Beirne, 4 James Ryan, 3 Finlay Bealham, 2 Rónan Kelleher, 1 Andrew Porter.
Replacements: 16 Dan Sheehan, 17 Cian Healy, 18 Thomas Clarkson, 19 Iain Henderson, 20 Jack Conan, 21 Conor Murray, 22 Jack Crowley, 23 Robbie Henshaw.
England: 15 Freddie Steward, 14 Tommy Freeman, 13 Ollie Lawrence, 12 Henry Slade, 11 Cadan Murley, 10 Marcus Smith, 9 Alex Mitchell, 8 Ben Earl, 7 Ben Curry, 6 Tom Curry, 5 George Martin, 4 Maro Itoje (captain), 3 Will Stuart, 2 Luke Cowan-Dickie, 1 Ellis Genge.
Replacements: 16 Theo Dan, 17 Fin Baxter, 18 Joe Heyes, 19 Ollie Chessum, 20 Chandler Cunningham-South, 21 Tom Willis, 22 Harry Randall, 23 Fin Smith.
Referee: Ben O'Keeffe (New Zealand)
Assistant referees: James Doleman (New Zealand) & Hollie Davidson (Scotland)
TMO: Glenn Newman (New Zealand)
