Ireland douse England's fire to start Six Nations title defence with gritty win

Key moment: Tadhg Beirne touches down for Ireland

A second-half blitz of tries carried Ireland to a 27-22 defeat of old rivals England in Dublin on Saturday as the Six Nations title holders got their campaign for a record third successive trophy off to a winning start.

Ireland came 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 10-5 at half-time at Lansdowne Road. But tries from Bundee Aki, Tadhg Beirne and Dan Sheehan put a seasoned Ireland side into a seemingly commanding 27-10 lead before Tom Curry and Tommy Freeman went over for England late in the game.

This bonus-point win was an ideal way for Ireland to mark interim coach Simon Easterby's first game in charge, with Andy Farrell now seconded to the British and Irish Lions.

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Defeat added to the pressure on England boss Steve Borthwick following a poor run of results in 2024.

"It was a little patchy to begin with but we produced some nice stuff in the end," Ireland scrum-half Jamison Gibson-Park, the player of the match, told ITV. "We improved our accuracy and things stuck better in the second half."

Defeat meant England – who have not finished higher than third since they last won the Six Nations in 2020 – lost in their first Test under new captain Maro Itoje.

"I thought the first half was fantastic and we did everything we wanted to do," said Itoje. "The second half we lost the territory a little bit and we struggled to get out."

England lost seven out of 12 Tests last year but were the only side to beat Ireland in the 2024 Six Nations.

(AFP)


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