ONE ELL OF A BASHING
Fast Eddie kicks off World Cup year with a four-try bang
EDDIE JONES’ England shatte shattered Ireland’s aura of invinc invincibility with a performan mance of pure genius to kick off World Cup year.
Ay A year after having to watch the Irish celebrate a Grand Sl Slam at Twickenham, Jones’ wh white- shirted warriors gained emphatic em revenge at the home of the t world’s in-form side.
England not only beat the odds-on favourites, fa they won in Dublin for the first time since 2013 while scoring their first Six Nations N try at the Aviva for e eight years.
The marauding mar visitors put them to the sword with scores for Jonny May, Elliot Daly and two from Henry Slade giving them a bonus point triumph. Each was a work of art, testament to the endeavour of coaches and players alike during their week-long training camp in Portugal.
England return home to face a France side shell-shocked after coughing up a 16-point half-time lead to Wales.
They do so as the talk of rugby after a game that sends shockwaves around the sport seven months months from the World Cup. From the first minute they took the game to the Irish, only too aware history showed a failure to hit the home side hard and early in Dublin does not end well.
There was barely a minute on the clock when Ireland were caught napping at the first lineout and Manu Tuilagi powered on to a long throw and shunted Ireland to the back foot.
White shirts swarmed through a and patiently worked the ball u until Keith Earls popped out o of the defensive line.
Farrell seized the chance, b bypassing the winger with a s stunning miss- pass which D Daly took and fed on to May.
Not for eight years had E England scored a try here and e even that was a consolation a at the end of a heavy defeat.
But May had warned they