This was a defeat far more damaging than any of the last-gasp anguishes of last year for England. There were no ifs or buts or maybes about this one. Don’t be fooled by the five-point margin of victory, it was merely a consequence of Ireland starting their celebrations early, allowing late tries by Tom Curry and Tommy Freeman.
The game was long gone before that. It feels a long time since that victory over Ireland at Twickenham last year, one that breathed life into Steve Borthwick’s post World Cup reset. Ireland’s response was ruthless and put to bed any notion that England had their number as they opened the defence of their Six Nations title in ultimately ruthless fashion, even without the guidance of Andy Farrell, who was sitting in the stands now in his role as head coach of the British and Irish Lions.
The new professional game partnership between the Rugby Football Union and the Premiership clubs was supposed to improve the conditioning of the players but they could not match Ireland’s power in the final quarter, with the sight of conditioning guru Aled Walters, this time last year in England colours , adding to the frustration. His replacement Phil Morrow does not start until the summer tour of Argentina. His appointment cannot come soon enough.
It was Ireland’s bench, with Jack Conan and Dan Sheehan outstanding, who also outmuscled their opponents, with England curiously staggering the introduction of their six forwards into the contest instead unleashing t.