England kept their Six Nations title hopes alive with a convincing victory over Ireland at Twickenham as many home fans got a first glimpse of Eddie Jones’s side in the flesh since their run to the World Cup final in Japan.
George Ford, Elliot Daly and Luke Cowan-Dickie crossed the whitewash as the Red Rose sealed a 24-12 win in south-west London to deny the Irish the triple crown.
RUCK’S MAN OF THE MATCH – Sam Underhill (England)
All-action display from the Bath flanker whose breakdown work and 21 tackles deservedly earned him our man of the match award.
Best players:
Maro Itoje: The second-row forced numerous turnovers with the power of his tackling, stole Irish line-outs and was a thorn in Ireland’s side at the contact area. He had a couple of forceful carries, too, and was particularly influential winning the collisions close to the ruck.
Manu Tuilagi: He’s the type of guy you’d turn to in any situation. An absolute powerhouse.
Courtney Lawes: The Guinness man of the match. He was everywhere. Happy birthday to him
Underpeformers:
Johnny Sexton: The fly-half made a costly error that led to George Ford’s opening try and he also had a bad day from the kicking tee. Disastrous performance.
Did Johnny Sexton put on two left boots before the game today?
— Balls.ie (@ballsdotie) February 23, 2020
When #Johnnysexton plays badly, it’s usually bad news for #Ireland pic.twitter.com/6sTn3NyYhD
— Michael George (@mickgeo3) February 23, 2020
England vs Ireland player ratings
Take a look at how every player rated below.
England: Elliot Daly 7, Jonny May 7, Manu Tuilagi 8, Owen Farrell (captain) 7, Jonathan Joseph 7, George Ford 7.5, Ben Youngs 7; Joe Marler 7, Jamie George 8, Kyle Sinckler 7, Maro Itoje 8, George Kruis 7, Courtney Lawes 8, Sam Underhill 8.5, Tom Curry 7
Ireland: Jordan Larmour 6, Andrew Conway 6, Robbie Henshaw 7, Bundee Aki 6 , Jacob Stockdale 5, Johnny Sexton 4, Conor Murray 6; Cian Healy 5, Rob Herring 5, Tadhg Furlong 6, Devin Toner 5, James Ryan 6, Peter O’Mahony 7, Josh van der Flier 6, CJ Stander 7
Getting to know the England XV
15. Elliot Daly
- Age | 27
- Caps | 41
- Club | Saracens
- Salary | Unknown
- Partner | Michelle Cussell – The fullback met his gorgeous girlfriend when he was still at school. The pair met at the £18,618-a-year Whitgift School for boys in Croydon, south London, where Daly, 28, was a pupil and she worked as a sports events organiser – although they were both 18 at the time.
- Nickname | Briefcase – He got his nickname after turned up at his first Wasps training session in his Whitgift school uniform and carrying you know what!
14. Jonny May
- Age | 29
- Caps | 54
- Club | Leicester Tigers
- Salary | £325,000
- Partner | Sophie May – The blonde-haired fitness fanatic earns her living as a personal trainer, posting regular updates on the Girlsontopoffitness Instagram page.
13. Manu Tuilagi
- Age | 28
- Caps | 41
- Club | Leicester Tigers
- Salary | £550,000
- Partner | Chantelle Garrity
12. Owen Farrell
- Age | 28
- Caps | 81
- Club | Saracens
- Salary | £750,000
- Partner | Georgie Farrell – Despite him being one of England’s star men, Owen Farrell’s wife Georgie likes to keep her life extremely private.
- Nickname | Little Faz/Faz – Used to predominantly be Little Faz but now his Dad, Andy, has jetted off to work for Ireland he seems to have shaken that part of his nickname.
11. Jonathan Joseph
- Age |28
- Caps | 49
- Club |Bath Rugby