England Fans Fume Over One Player's Defensive Liability vs Ireland

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England’s Six Nations campaign got off to a bruising start in Dublin, with Marcus Smith’s defence once again under the microscope following a tough outing against Ireland.

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The hosts struggled to find their rhythm early on, allowing England to take a deserved lead at the break thanks to a debut try from Cadan Murley.

However, Ireland found their stride in the second half, running in three tries through Bundee Aki, Tadhg Beirne, and returning hooker Dan Sheehan to secure a bonus-point victory in Simon Easterby's first game as interim head coach.

The defeat marks England's sixth loss in their last seven games under Steve Borthwick, with fans quick to point fingers at Smith's defensive frailties.

“Marcus Smith isn't gonna wanna see that again, and that's the major question mark about him at 10 for the Lions. Defence,” one fan wrote.

Another didn’t hold back: “Marcus Smith FFS. Most overrated player in world rugby, can’t tackle for toffee.”

A third added: “England again suffering from the tactic of moving Marcus Smith out to the wing when they are out of possession. For all his undoubted talent, he's a defensive liability at international level.”

One fan summed up the frustration: “Not helped by a 10 that goes missing when the going gets tough. We'll win nothing with Marcus Smith at 10 – overhyped.”

With England set to host France next, the pressure is mounting on Borthwick to address the glaring issues in his side—Smith's defence included.

England player ratings vs Ireland:

Ellis Genge – 7/10

Given the job of being a prominent carrier for an undersized England pack and put in some huge hits against a galloping Ireland pack that helped stem the flow when Ireland were on top in the first half. The loosehead was on the wrong end of a few decisions from referee Ben O'Keefe at scrum time and looked a bit tired in the second half.

Luke Cowan-Dickie – 7/10

The Exeter hooker,probably picked for his size, put it to good use as he carried hard and well with England’s early pressure. The 31 year old added to the jackal threats across the English pack with a great turnover on their own line and did not stop fighting all evening

Will Stuart – 6/10

A relatively quiet evening for the Bath man around the park, got a bit of the edge at scrum time and hit hard in defence against some big Irish attackers contributing to a huge English defensive effort at times.

Maro Itoje – 7/10

First start as captain and in the first half he was back to his annoying best. Sam Prendergast was getting sick of looking up and seeing him in his sights straight away, he was also a nuisance at ruck time in a clear attempt to slow down the Irish ball. However, in the second half he got pinged with a few tight calls and struggled to rally his side to launch a response until the game had run away from them.

George Martin – 7/10

Tasked with providing the physical edge and size that the starting XV lacked, Martin found himself as a very willing carrier early and was smashing Irish forwards all evening. It's a shame as it looked like it became a job too big for him in the second half but I do think it was more Ireland playing well than England falling off too much.

Tom Curry – 7/10

Picked alongside his brother in a speed over size backrow to hit Ireland's backdown and that job was very much fulfilled. The Curry's targeted every breakdown all evening and was also a jumper in the lineout, adding to his performance with a try late on.

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