Six Nations: England’s stunning win over Ireland

It was the day it all came together for England, said Stephen Jones in The Sunday Times. “Every hope and every plan and every loose end.” They arrived in Dublin last Saturday, at the start of their Six Nations campaign, as underdogs: Ireland, the No. 2 team in the world and reigning Six Nations champions, were unbeaten in 12 home matches. But in a “titanic” match, the English crushed the hosts, scoring four tries to win 32-20. They have waited “a long time for a display like this”, said Tom Fordyce on BBC Sport. It was probably England’s finest performance since they beat the All Blacks in 2012 – and certainly the finest in the three years that Eddie Jones has been head coach. What a way to start a World Cup year.

“This felt like the first good look at the side Jones has been dreaming about,” said Andy Bull in The Observer, the one that he’d have picked long ago, if all the right players had been fit. They were “an ugly bunch, nasty, brutish and sharp”: a “pack of burly bullies” provided the power, “a couple of whippet-quick sidekicks” the speed. Yet this was also an intelligent performance, said Owen Slot in The Times. Too often, under Jones, England have “failed to adapt to the circumstances of a game”. But this time, when Tom Curry received a yellow card, they held strong and didn’t concede a single point during the ten minutes that they were a man down. England exhibited a new-found consistency: whereas so many of their recent performances have been undermined by troughs, here they were “sharp for pretty much the full 80 minutes”. Every player did their bit, said Paul Hayward in The Sunday Telegraph. The Vunipola brothers, Billy and Mako, were key once again: they “used the opposition as anvils”. And in his first Six Nations start since 2013, Manu Tuilagi – the centre whose career has been waylaid by chronic injuries – proved that he was “worth waiting for”. He roamed the pitch “with a smooth elegance that belied his dark intent”.

“It is a long time since a Six Nations game changed rugby’s landscape so significantly,” said Robert Kitson in The Guardian. Suddenly England appear to be a “gathering force”, while questions are being asked of Ireland, a team who saw off the All Blacks only three months ago. “And goodness, this was an untypical Ireland performance: nervy, inaccurate, flat in places, panicky in others.” There was no sign of the defensive strength, the “methodical efficiency”, that has previously defined this team. When games go against them, they seem unable to find a “plan B”: they haven’t won a match after trailing at half-time since 2014. Ireland will surely bounce back from this defeat, but “the shamrock aura has been unceremoniously pierced”.