England 24-12 Ireland: Six Nations result, report, reaction and highlights

England 24-12 Ireland

England tryscorers: Ford, Daly, Cowan-Dickie
England conversions: Farrell (3)
England penalties: Farrell

Ireland tryscorers: Henshaw, Porter
Ireland conversions: Cooney

Match report:

England's claim they were ready to rediscover the form that swept them to last autumn's World Cup final materialised into a crushing 24-12 victory over Ireland at Twickenham.

There were shades of the knockout phase romps against Australia and New Zealand as Eddie Jones' men ended the Irish Grand Slam march in destructive fashion, leaving France as the Guinness Six Nations' only unbeaten team.

From start to finish they tore into opponents who never recovered from an early onslaught and whose fingers found the self-destruct button with alarming frequency.

George Ford and Elliot Daly poached tries that propelled title-chasing England out of sight after 25 minutes, both of them profiting from blunders by Johnny Sexton and Jacob Stockdale behind the whitewash.

By the end of the first half Ireland had spent only 31 seconds in the enemy 22 and, although they eventually became a more cohesive attacking force, they never looked remotely capable of overcoming a 17-0 interval deficit.

Luke Cowan-Dickie crossed for the third try and Owen Farrell kicked three conversions and a penalty as England's mastery of the Irish was extended to a third successive rout.

Ireland's failings were collective but at the heart of their collapse was Sexton, who never recovered from an awful start and butchered five easy points from the kicking tee at important moments.

It was not the return to Twickenham hoped for by Andy Farrell and this day belonged to his son Owen, who cut a composed figure as he drove England onwards to a triumph that relieves pressure on the Jones regime.

Daly and the unstoppable Manu Tuilagi were influential in a promising start but a poor pass from Ben Youngs found Courtney Lawes' head instead of his hands as England moved to within inches of the line.

Youngs made amends by firing a smart grubber that led to the opening try but Sexton, who was under pressure from Farrell and deceived by a cruel bounce, was also to blame as he failed to gather the ball as it bobbled over the whitewash to allow Ford to touch down.

The opening quarter deteriorated further for Sexton as he produced two poor kicks in a row before hooking a shot at goal horribly wide.

Aided by Ireland's refusal to contest line-outs, England resumed their advance downfield with Tuilagi's power across the gainline helping them on to the front foot.

Daly was revelling in his return to full-back for the first time since the World Cup final and it was the Saracen who plundered the second try as Stockdale inexplicably dithered over Ford's cute kick, offering the score on a plate.

The first half unfolded against the backdrop of Farrell's constant dialogue with referee Jaco Peyper as Ireland were repeatedly bullied in contact, with man-of-the-match Lawes their chief agitator.

At times England's attack was overly frantic and too reliant on kicking, but with the white shirts winning just about every collision and then defending ferociously they could afford moments of inaccuracy.

The first half finished with a pumped-up Kyle Sinckler being escorted off the pitch after the Harlequins prop had given Ireland a tongue lashing at another breakdown dominated by a pack that had their feet on opposition throats.

Ireland emerged from the interval with their purpose restored and their urgency was evident as CJ Stander hammered his palm into Farrell's stomach in an attempt to make the centre let go of his leg.

Robbie Henshaw barged over from close range to round off a spell of Irish ascendancy but as Sexton yanked the conversion and England resumed their offensive, a comeback appeared unlikely.

A line-out drive ended with Cowan-Dickie emerging with the ball and, although Ireland had the final say with a stoppage time try by Andrew Porter, it failed to distract from a heavy defeat.

Reaction

Eddie Jones claimed England were so dominant in their 24-12 victory over Ireland that they could have declared at half-time.

"We played with a lot of control. We read the conditions well, read the referee well and at half-time if it was a cricket game, we could have declared," Jones said.

"We've been building up. I got the preparation wrong for the France game and apologised for that.

"We were good against Scotland - really good against Scotland in difficult conditions - and we took another step up here. We will take another step up when we play Wales on Saturday week.

"There's a lot more to come. We played tough in the first 40 minutes, probably took our foot off a little bit in the second half but Ireland were always going to get some ball.

"They were always going to get some refereeing calls and we had to defend pretty well, which we did.

"We were disappointed to give that try away at the end but we will need to be better against Wales."

Jones was criticised for a number of team selections, including giving Jonathan Joseph his first start on the wing, picking Elliot Daly at full-back and naming five locks in the 23.

Former England head coach Sir Clive Woodward was the most vocal critic and Jones said: "I don't need vindication.

"I pick the team that I think is right for the week but the media are so clever. You're all clever so I've just got to suck it all up, enjoy what you say, try to learn from you, and maybe I can pick a better team next week."

Andy Farrell plans to undergo a period of self-analysis following his first defeat as Ireland head coach.

The visitors paid a heavy price for their sloppy start and costly errors as the chance for a second Triple Crown in three years quickly slipped away.

"I wouldn't say we were off the pace - I think they started pretty well. No excuses though because they've started pretty well against us before and we should have been ready for that," said Farrell.

"We were coming here to try and win a Triple Crown and they were trying to fight to stay in the championship.

"We can assess all the bits, all the technicalities and the ramifications of accumulative errors etc, or refereeing decisions or whatever, but the reality is that they came out of the blocks hard, got on the front foot and we took a few sucker-punches.

"I need to look at myself. Were they up for it more than us? Us, going for a Triple Crown? That's my responsibility to make sure that that shouldn't happen, so I've got to look at myself first and foremost."

Highlights

Player ratings

ENGLAND

Elliot Daly: A game to revive the prospect that he can be a long-term option at full-back. Started explosively and played with freedom. 8

Jonathan Joseph: Any doubt over his suitability to start on the wing quickly faded as he danced into space and chased everything down. 7

Manu Tuilagi: England are so reliant on his ability to break the gain-line and here he was an unstoppable force. 8

Owen Farrell: In the father-v-son duel against Ireland coach Andy, it was England's composed captain who emerged with bragging rights. 8

Jonny May: Unable to make the eye-catching breaks that are his calling card but he did the less glamorous work brilliantly. 7

Ben Youngs: A ball of energy who made good decisions, but also capable of making influential mistakes. 7

Joe Marler: Scythed down green shirts in a relentless defensive shift and was always in the thick of the action. 7

Jamie George: Growing in influence throughout this Six Nations but is being pushed hard by Luke Cowan-Dickie. 8

Kyle Sinckler: Another player who is beginning to find his feet after a slow start to the Championship. Gave Ireland plenty of verbals. 7

Maro Itoje: A strip of the ball in the tackle was trademark Itoje, who carried the fight to Ireland. 8

George Kruis: Rarely produces anything spectacular but his work-rate is huge. He carries and tackles with commitment. 8

Courtney Lawes: On the day he equalled Martin Johnson's 84-cap record for a lock, Lawes was named man of match. Destructive. 9

Sam Underhill: Smashed backwards in one early carry but recomposed himself and was a physical menace thereafter. 7

Tom Curry: The debate will continue to rage over whether he is a number eight after this peripheral performance. 6

Replacements - Ellis Genge is making a habit of having a major impact off the bench and against Ireland he wasted no time in getting under their skins. Cowan-Dickie must soon be given a start. 8

IRELAND

Jordan Larmour: Caught well under pressure early on but, at times, the 22-year-old appeared to be targeted by England and fell below his recent standards. 5

Andrew Conway: On occasion struggled to cope with pace of opposing wing Jonathan Joseph and had little chance to impress going forward before being forced off in the second half for a head injury assessment. 5

Robbie Henshaw: Bulldozing try briefly brought Ireland back into the contest. Later escaped punishment for a late but vital tackle which prevented Jonny May adding to England's lead. 6

Bundee Aki: Offered little for his team and, on this performance, could see his position at inside centre come under threat for the remainder of the tournament. 4

Jacob Stockdale: Inexplicable hesitation from the wing allowed England to score a second try and take complete control of the contest. Contributed little from an attacking point of view. 3

Johnny Sexton: A dreadful fumble, which allowed George Ford to score the opening try, set the tone for his team's performance, while he also squandered a simple penalty and was guilty of some poor kicks. 3

Conor Murray: The underwhelming scrum-half was punished when a misplaced exit kick culminated in England's second try. Struggled to dictate play as the hosts dominated, before being replaced. 5

Cian Healy: Limped off injured in the aftermath of the hosts' second try to be replaced by Dave Kilcoyne after being part of a team struggling to contain the aggressive hosts. 4

Rob Herring: Part of a front row which repeatedly lost their battles, resulting in England romping to a third successive emphatic success over Ireland. 5

Tadhg Furlong: After plenty of pre-match talk around the scrum, was guilty of conceding the first scrum penalty of the afternoon during a pedestrian performance from the visitors. 5

Devin Toner: The lock's first start since his shock World Cup omission was one to forget. Will probably return to the bench once Iain Henderson returns from a short period of paternity leave. 5

James Ryan: Showed incredible work-rate and repeatedly put his body on the line, while finding ways to impose himself, despite limited opportunity to do so. 7

Peter O'Mahony: Produced an important pick-up and carry in the build-up to Henshaw's score as Ireland started the second period strongly. 6

Josh Van Der Flier: Among the few who could hold his head high after a dismal opening 40 minutes but was came out second best against opposite number Sam Underhill. 6

CJ Stander: Once again one of Ireland's top performers once again but, on this occasion, that was not a difficult feat. Involved in a petty altercation with Owen Farrell but, despite the England skipper's claims, appeared to slap, rather than punch. 6

Replacements: Andrew Porter marked his cameo appearance with a late try, while scrum-half John Cooney, bidding to take Murray's shirt, was lively. Return of Caelan Doris following a head injury was another notable positive. 6