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| England: (12) 18 |
| Attempts: May 2; Feathers: Farrell 2; With: Farrell |
| Ireland: (0) 7 |
| Try: Stockdale; With: Burns |
Winger Jonny May scored a superb solo try as England claimed an emphatic and entertaining Fall Nations Cup victory against Ireland at Twickenham.
May crossed twice as the hosts dominated the first half and the second attempt, which covered most of the field while chasing her kick, was one of her best.
The hosts retained control after the break with two penalties from Owen Farrell.
Unwilling to let May take all the applause, Jacob Stockdale chased after a kick to give Ireland its only try.
England are now at the top of their group and in pole position to compete for the title on final weekend.
Eddie Jones’s team will travel to Wales for their final group match next Saturday, while Ireland host Georgia on Sunday.
Italy, Scotland, Fiji and France are all in Group B, but Fiji have not been able to complete any of their matches due to a coronavirus outbreak in the team.
The winners of each of the two groups will meet on December 5 or 6 to decide an overall champion.
England’s backs light up Twickenham
England’s head coach Jones made sure to emphasize before the game that his team faced the toughest challenge since returning from international rugby in October.
With England’s last two tests against Georgia and Italy, it was not as controversial a statement as those to come later in the week.
Jones jokingly referred to Ireland as the “United Nations”, referencing the five southern hemisphere-born players in their starting lineup, and questioned prop Andrew Porter’s scrum technique.
Ireland did not seem as enthused by the opposing coach’s comments as they could have been and were overshadowed by England’s electric backs.
Hooker Jamie George had claimed a hat-trick from mauls in his 40-0 win against GeorgiaBut England’s attacking intentions this week were clear when Ben Youngs took a quick penalty from a position that could have seen Farrell claim three easy points.
The captain received his reward shortly after when his cross kick landed for May, who leapt into the sky over southwest London to beat Hugo Keenan and cross into the right corner.
It was the wing’s 30th attempt in England, but its climactic moment came minutes later with a score that is sure to make Twickenham stand out on the reels for years to come.
May danced around the Irish defenders on her own 22 and then chased her own kick, beating Ireland scrum-half Jamison Gibson-Park, and another touch with her foot allowed her to cover the last 10 meters and score.
His 31st attempt took him one ahead of Jeremy Guscott’s total and the level with 2003 World Cup winners Ben Cohen and Will Greenwood, only England’s record scorer Rory Underwood at 49 is ahead of him. .
Farrell extends lead as Ireland concedes penalties
The match had been billed as a physical battle, with Ireland captain James Ryan and England star Maro Itoje in the center.
That physical element became clear when Ireland blocking Quinn Roux made the first significant move after the break, shoving England wing Tom Curry to the ground by the neck.
The infraction gave Farrell a chance to add three points to England’s lead and, shortly after the more experienced Conor Murray replaced Gibson-Park, Ireland conceded another penalty.
Ryan was caught in the breakdown and Farrell made no mistakes off the tee again, putting England 18 points ahead.
Ireland’s forwards continued to fight, but eventually turned the baton behind their backs when elevated middle Ross Byrne kicked forward for center Chris Farrell, who was stopped by Henry Slade over the try line.
The game began to lose momentum until replacement half fly Billy Burns gave it some life before death.
The number 10 jumped a ball over and Stockdale lunged forward, beating Max Malins to claim him and become the first player to score against England in the Fall Nations Cup.
Man of the match: Jonny May
Reaction
England coach Eddie Jones told BBC Radio 5 Live Sports Extra: “We dominated the game, we put ourselves in a good position to go ahead and dominate. We didn’t, but there is so much more to us, which is nice.”
“The defense was pretty good, but we are disappointed with the try at the end. We would have liked to have a clean sheet, as they say in football, but we are improving. I particularly liked the ferocity of our ruck defense today.”
‘I’m not sure if England should be grateful or Ireland aggrieved’ – analysis
Former England scrum half Matt Dawson said on BBC Radio 5 Live Sports Extra: “It was a routine from England. There were flashes in the first half and shots of rhythm.
“There were counterattacks and there were wonderful attempts from May. I thought ‘here we go’ during the second half, but as much as Ireland knocked on the door, England had too much and didn’t care too much about attacking.”
Former Ireland center Darren Cave on BBC Radio 5 Live Sports Extra: “I thought we would learn where both teams are, but it was difficult to assess.
“Ireland was disappointing, England were dominant, but that didn’t reflect that. England know how to beat Ireland; they executed their plan perfectly. I’m not sure if Ireland should be grateful for only losing by 13, or England aggrieved for not” scoring plus “.
ALIGNMENTS
England: Daly; Joseph, Lawrence, Slade, May; Farrell (capt), Youngs; M Vunipola, George, Sinckler; Itoje, Launchbury; Curry, Underhill, B Vunipola.
Replacements: Genge for M Vunipola (62), Earl for Underhill (62), Robson for Youngs (62), Stuart for Sinckler (68), Hill for Launchbury (68), Ford for Lawrence (68), Malins for Joseph (71) Dunn for George (79).
Ireland: Keenan; Earls, Farrell, Aki, Lowe; R Byrne, Gibson-Park; Healy, Kelleher, Porter; Roux, James Ryan (captain); Stander, O’Mahony, Doris.
Replacements: Murray for Gibson-Park (50), Herring for Kelleher (50), Henderson for Roux (50), Stockdale for Keenan (57), Bealham for Healy (65), Connors for Stander (65), Burns for Byrne (68) .
Not used: John ryan
