England produced a sizzling performance on a red-hot day in London to rack up their biggest win over Ireland and raise expectation levels ahead of Rugby World Cup 2019.
In terms of preparing for the game’s showpiece tournament in Japan, Ireland were one match behind England and it showed as Eddie Jones’ men ran in eight tries, seven of them converted, to win 57-15 at Twickenham.
With the pack dominant and able to take advantage of Ireland’s misfiring lineout, England’s backs had plenty of quality possession to work with and they seized on the chance to cut loose, Manu Tuilagi capping a man-of-the-match display with one of their tries.
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Joe Cokanasiga pocketed a brace and Elliot Daly also got his name on the scoresheet with England’s other tries coming from hard-working Saracens second-rows Maro Itoje and George Kruis, and hooker Luke Cowan-Dickie with what is becoming a customary steal at the back of the lineout.
Ireland scored first in the match after nine minutes through Jordan Larmour but they had to wait until the 73rd minute to cross England’s line again, Bundee Aki’s neat finish down the right touchline providing one of the few positives on an otherwise forgettable afternoon.
Having secured a winning margin of over 15 points, England now trade places with Ireland in the World Rugby Men’s Rankings and move into third with the gap between themselves and top-ranked Wales only 1.30 points.
