Ireland XV 14 England A 52
Painful, physically and emotionally and a night that will chase away sleep. After the disappointment of Paris last night, this match represented an audition for those that aspire to higher honours, a chance to lay down a marker. Instead, it was a shellacking, and few escaped with reputations intact never mind enhanced.
The Irish senior coaching cohort Andy Farrell, Paul O’Connell, John Fogarty, Andrew Goodman and Johnny Sexton honoured a promise to attend, their presence underlining that there was more at stake than the result.
Ireland were overwhelmed, individually and collectively, by a side that were bigger, faster, smarter and that played a modern brand of rugby. The home side in comparison were made to look pedestrian in comparison, predictable too in possession.
Dan Kelly, Fintan Gunne, Bryn Ward, Gus McCarthy and in the second half Max Deegan and James Hume produced moments of quality, but they were far too sporadic to avoid the whitewash that engulfed the home side. Overuse of the boot, basic errors in handling and kicking, losing many physical duels on the gain-line and being burned on the edges out wide was too much damage to mitigate.
Ireland’s scrum coach John Fogarty and head coach Andy Farrell. Photograph: Dan Clohessy/Inpho
It’s been a pretty sobering couple of days for Irish rugby and there is precious little consolation, albeit that there is no time to wallow. It will be instructive to see who, if anyone, gets called to the HPC next week.
England dominated the opening 40 minutes in virtually every facet of the game, powering through the collisions at will, winning two penalties and a free-kick at the first three scrums, creating huge pressure on the Irish lineout, all of which enabled them to score three tries through captain Ethan Roots, outhalf Billy Searle and wing Ollie Hassell-Collins.
The visitors played with impressive fluidity, width and switched the point of attack cleverly, all the while dominating contact, and generating quick ball at the breakdown. Ireland were left to rue a hatful of individual mistakes that invited the pressure that would ensue. England rarely let them off the hook.
Ireland lived off scraps, two of which they transformed into tries, the first after the visitors conceded a raft of penalties. Brian Gleeson with a little help from Max Deegan barged over following sustained pressure on the English line. The second was the product of a misplaced pass, James Hume’s hustle to fly hack the ball through and Joshua Kenny’s pace to win the race, facilitated by a kindly bounce.
Ireland’s James Hume. Photograph: Dan Clohessy/Inpho
In between those silver linings England crossed for a fourth try, Harry Randall dived over from about a metre after his forwards had cut a swathe through the green shirts. The 24-14 interval deficit felt less punitive than it might have been for the home side, based on the game’s flow.
It was hard to fathom though that there wasn’t more bite and energy to the Irish team, a realisation that after Thursday night’s events in Paris, this was an opportunity to raise a hand. Dan Kelly did, Fintan Gunne too, Gus McCarthy in his carrying and Shane Daly in the energy he brought in chasing lost causes.
Ireland kicked away too much ball. England came to play, the home side were more circumspect and conservative, which was disappointing in context and content. An inability to perform the basics, exacerbated by a yellow card for Fineen Wycherley was a precursor to a fifth England try, three minutes after the restart for George Kloska.
Either side of Hassell-Collins second try, Ireland head coach Cullie Tucker removed Gleeson, Gunne, and Kelly, three of the better performers on the night; to spare them further punishment or perhaps with an eye to joining the senior squad for in the build-up to the Six Nations game against Italy next Saturday. They’ll certainly hope for the latter reason.
One of the replacements Cathal Forde had a superb individual try ruled out because of an earlier knock-on by Bohan, another scrumhalf Matthew Devine made an immediate impression in a positive manner.
Ireland’s discipline, like their attacking patterns – they continued to kick the ball away or just shovelled it out the back without any obvious purpose – unravelled as England accelerated away on the scoreboard. Hume kept playing, superbly at times, Bryn Ward worked hard, while his brother Zac was stripped of possession going over the English line.
The home side coughed up possession at the lineout, in aerial duels, exhausted mentally and physically, against opponents that gave them a proper chasing. A final try took England over the half century of points, a fair reflection in the gulf between the two teams on the night.
Scoring sequence 8 mins: Roots try, Searle conversion, 0-7; 18: Searle try, 0-12; 23: Gleeson try, Frawley conversion, 7-12; 28: Hassell-Collins try, 7-17; 35: Randall try, Searle conversion, 7-24; 38: Kenny try, Frawley conversion, 14-24. Half-time: 14-24. 43: Kloska try, Searle conversion, 14-31; 50: Hassell-Collins try, Searle conversion, 14-38; 61: Murley try, Searle conversion, 14-45; 78: Roots try, Atkinson conversion, 14-52.
Ireland XV: Shane Daly (Munster); Joshua Kenny (Leinster), James Hume (Ulster), Dan Kelly (Munster), Zac Ward (Ulster); Ciarán Frawley (Leinster), Fintan Gunne (Leinster); Billy Bohan (Connacht), Gus McCarthy (Leinster), Scott Wilson (Ulster); Charlie Irvine (Ulster), Fineen Wycherley (Munster); Max Deegan (Leinster, capt), Bryn Ward (Ulster), Brian Gleeson (Munster).
Replacements: Jack Aungier (Connacht) for Wilson 46 mins; Sean Jansen (Connacht) for Gleeson 46 mins; Harry Sheridan (Ulster) for Wycherley 52 mins; Matthew Devine (Connacht) for Gunne 52 mins; Cathal Forde (Connacht) for Kelly 52 mins; Diarmuid Barron (Munster) for McCarthy 57 mins; Sam Crean (Ulster) for Bohan 57 mins; Jack Murphy (Ulster) for Frawley 63 mins; Wilson for Aungier 68 mins.
Yellow card: F Wycherley 42 mins.
England A: Joe Carpenter (Sale); Cadan Murley (Harlequins), Luke Northmore (Harlequins), Orlando Bailey (Leicester), Ollie Hassell-Collins (Leicester); Billy Searle (Leicester), Harry Randall (Bristol); Tarek Haffar (Leicester), Jamie Blamire (Leicester), George Kloska (Bristol); Ben Bamber (Sale), Joe Batley (Bristol); Ethan Roots (Exeter, capt), Jack Kenningham (Harlequins), Alex Dombrandt (Harlequins).
Replacements: Raffi Quirke (Sale) for Randall 49 mins; Afolabi Fasogbon (Gloucester) for Kloska 49 mins; Archie van der Flier (Leicester) for Haffar 56 mins; Fitz Harding (Bristol) for Kenningham 59 mins; Kepueli Tuipulotu (Bath) for Blamire 62 mins; Hugh Tizard (Saracens) for Bamber 62 mins; George Hendy (Northampton) for Northmore 63 mins; Charlie Atkinson (Gloucester) for Searle 68 mins.
Referee: B Rousselet (France)