5 Things You Missed: England 21-42 Ireland - 2026 Six Nations - Maro Itoje's 100th Cap Ruined

Despite struggling at scrum-time with a handful of set-piece penalties, Ireland were first to break the deadlock. Jack Crowley nailed his first crack at the sticks for a three point lead, before Andy Farrell's side followed this up with the first try of the match. Jamison Gibson-Park skipped free with a quick tap to catch England's defence off guard.

The men in green rode this momentum back across England's whitewash, as in-form Ulster centre Stuart McCloskey broke free with a stunning break. Gibson-Park shipped the re-set ball out wide, to find Rob Baloucoune in space for a walk-in finish from the Ulster wing. Ireland weren't finished with their first half offensive, as Balocoune sold Tommy Freeman on the dummy to break into the back-field. Tommy O'Brien followed in pursuit, with the Leinster flyer on hand to finish the counter-attack.

Crowley kept Ireland's score-board ticking over, to rack up a 22-point deficit. England replied with a try on the stroke of half-time, as Ireland's sturdy defence finally buckled for Fraser Dingwall to score. George Ford slotted the two pointer, to send the sides off at 22-7.

Henry Pollock marked his first England start with a trip to the sin-bin, which Ireland immediately capitalised upon. Dan Sheehan was next across the try-line, as the hooker wrestled his way over from close range. England rallied back once Pollock returned, as the Northampton star delivered a beautiful offload in the lead up to Ollie Lawrence's score. Ford's conversion narrowed the gap to 29-14 after 54 minutes.

Crowley added two more penalties, as England's discipline dropped throughout the second half. Jamie Osborne capped off his day with a stunning score, as Ireland hammered the nail into England's coffin for an emphatic away win. England picked up a consolation score in the closing five minutes, as Sam Underhill pushed his way over from close range.

TRIES: 3 (Dingwall 40', Lawrence 53', Underhill 75')

CONVERSIONS: 3 (Ford 40', 53', 75')

PENALTIES: 0

DROP GOALS: 0

YELLOW CARDS: 2 (Steward 27', Pollock 48)

RED CARDS: 0

IRELAND: 42

TRIES: 5 (Gibson-Park 20', Baloucoune 27', O'Brien 30', Sheehan 43', Osborne 69')

CONVERSIONS: 4 (Crowley 20', 30', 43', 70')

PENALTIES: 3 (Crowley 8', 59', 65')

DROP GOALS: 0

YELLOW CARDS: 1 (Osborne 54')

RED CARDS: 0

The stand-out Player of the Match performance came from Ireland scrum half Jamison Gibson-Park. The Leinster man spoke in the week about how being dropped to the bench against Italy, lit a fire within him to retain the nine jersey from Munster scrum half Craig Casey. Farrell handed Gibson-Park the start for the third round clash at the Aviva Stadium, with Gibson-Park quick to unleash a torrent of expertly weighted box kicks to put England's back-field under pressure.

The halfback scuppered away for Ireland first try, as he caught England's defence off guard and skipped across the line following a quick tap and go. Gibson-Park was ever-present within Ireland's attacking plans, and he was denied a second score after a mid-air collision between Jamie Osborne and Freddie Steward drew play back in favour of England's fullback. A stand-out moment from the New Zealand born star was his unrelenting work ethic, to chase down his own kick and make the tackle on Marcus Smith. Gibson-Park then got over the ball for a turnover, to ignite the away fans in attendance.

There was once again plenty of discussion around the 10 jersey heading into the third week of the 2026 Guinness Men's Six Nations, after Sam Prendergast was left out of the Ireland squad alltogether. Andy Farrell handed Jack Crowley the keys to the back-line, after the Munster man had a tremendous impact from the bench to steer Ireland to a home win over Italy last Saturday.

Crowley was impressive from the offset at the Allianz, as he made sure to collect the three-pointers that England's poor discipline left out on the pitch. The 26-year-old pulled the strings of his attacking line with an orchestral intent, as Ireland rallied time and again into the English red zone. Crowley kept Ireland's score board ticking over, and also found solid territory when it mattered for the men in green.

Contrastingly, It was a tough day at the office for England's number 10. George Ford found himself on the receiving end of some ironic jeers from the Allianz Stadium fans, after failing to find touch in a straight forward kick to the side-lines. The Sale man struggled with his kicks from hand, and also made some rather uncustomary misses from the tee. After being charged down upon his drop goal attempt, which led to a Scottish try last Saturday, Ford did not even get the opportunity for redemption as Ireland's line speed kept the fly half under constant pressure.

Something you very rarely see happened this afternoon, as referee Andrea Piardi was replaced mid-way through the first half. The Italian was knocked to the deck as he ran to keep up with the pace, with a sea of green and white jerseys presenting multiple culprits (yet no decisive individual) for his with drawl. The accident of course went unpunished, yet the Twickenham fans got their fix to see the injured referee down on the deck.

Those who had the ref mic on hand at the Allianz would have had access to the off-field dialogue, as Piardi called out 'that's me, I'm done', as he grimaced in pain down on the pitch. To hand the match official team their rarely witnessed plaudits, the group were quick to jump into action and sort out who would instead take up the whistle for the remaining 50 minutes. Assistant referee Pierre Brousset got the nod, as the Frenchman leaped into action.

The Allianz Stadium began to empty out with eleven minutes left of the match, as Ireland crossed over for their fifth try with the hammer dropped upon a dejected England team. The fifth try came through the hands of flying fullback Jamie Osborne, and the Leinster man skipped his way through the contact to cross the white line. Whilst the jubiliant Ireland fans in attendance were delighted to see their side over the line, the score was met by groans from the England fans as many prepared to leave.

The green seats of Twickenham began to snap back in a crescendo, as a wave of frustrated England fans made their way to the concourse and out of the stadium in order to beat the full-time rush. The first few were out the ground with 10 minutes left on the clock, and those supporters were remiss to not see Sam Underhill muscle over the line for a consolation England score. At least they beat the rush to Twickenham Station though. Every cloud.

It was not the milestone match that Maro Itoje and Henry Pollock would have dreamed up this week, with two polarising appearances overshadowed by a heavy defeat for England. Itoje unveiled some custom made Under Armour boots for his 100th England Cap, as the captain led his side out for his centurion cap. All the while, Henry Pollock was chomping at the bit for the opening whistle, as the Northampton Saints man made his first England start as he donned the eight jersey.

Pollock had a rough ride out at the Allianz, with his pitfall moment being a trip to the sin bin mid-way through the second half. The blonde-haired dynamo was given his 10 minute marching orders for not releasing at the ruck, with clear bemusement stretched across the face of the young-gun. Pollock was shown upon the big screen asking 'who, me?' to the match official, before his made his way off.