England back on winning track
The victory came after England's disappointing loss to France in Paris a fortnight ago and will give them heart ahead of their World Cup opener against Fiji on September 18.
It was two late Owen Farrell penalties that sealed the win, but it is a game that neither team would want to remember for long.
England were leading 12-3 after 13 minutes and 15-3 just one the 50-minute mark – before Ireland launched a powerful second-half comeback to close the gap to 13-15.
However, Farrell slotted penalties in the 72nd and 77th minutes to seal the win.
Stuart Lancaster's men made heavy weather of beating Ireland after threatening to blow them away earlier in the warm-up contest on Saturday.
Ireland were unable to bounce back from their recent loss to Wales, and will have plenty of food for thought over the next couple of weeks before their opening World Cup contest.
Jonny May used sheer strength, power and determination to crash his way over for the opening try within three minutes of the start.
Like a man on a special mission to cement his World Cup starting spot, he did his own Jonah Lomu impression on rival wing Tommy Bowe and then fullback Simon Zebo.
Both Irish defenders left sprawled on the ground as Gloucester ace May grabbed Ben Youngs' pass out wide and charged through and over them in the left hand corner with Ford converting.
May turned sinner moments later handed the Irish a penalty and Jonathan Sexton kicked Ireland's first points which bounced on the crossbar and over.
But that provided temporary respite for the Irish as George Ford's high punt to the right wing saw Watson leap like a salmon and out-jump Zebo.
The talented wing plucked the ball out of the air and grounded it over the line as he fell back to earth.
It was another stunning moment of athleticism and skill from the youngster tipped to be a real World Cup sensation.
Ireland lost scrumhalf Conor Murray to concussion after his head connected with England prop Joe Marler.
May thought he had a second try in the 26th minute when running over the line unchallenged.
But, after a series of TV replays, it was ruled out for a forward final pass from hooker Tom Youngs.
Ford and Sexton exchanged penalties at the start of the second half, but then came an Irish resurgence with captain Paul O'Connell leading the way.
A strong forwards drive from the visitors from a line-out to the veteran lock forcing his way over for a try converted by Sexton.
From the threat of being overrun in the first half, Joe Schmidt's men were suddenly right back in with a chance of upsetting the home side and the odds as England began to show some nerves.
Both sides made wholesale changes as a game which was lively, exciting and full of incident went through a quiet phase with neither managing to create any real pressure on the opponents line.
England threw on Rugby League convert Sam Burgess in a bid to add some more strength and power to their backline but his first two pieces of action resulted in a forward pass and knock on.
Not the kind of impact Burgess was hoping to make as he attempts to snatch a starting spot against Fiji.
England finally gained some renewed momentum and long series of phases saw them knocking on the Irish line.
Replacement scrumhalf Richard Wigglesworth cut in and desperately tried to plant the ball on the line, but was tackled by Ireland replacement hooker Richardt Strauss.
However, referee Nigel Owens ruled the England man had come up short, but two penalties from replacement No.10 Owen Farrell sealed victory.
Man of the match: Sean O'Brien, as he always does, put his body on the line for Ireland, while Johnny Sexton did his best to keep his team in the hunt. Jonny May and Anthony Watson showed their finishing power, while George Ford's boot also played a key role. Chris Robshaw, especially on defence, and Tom Youngs were among England's most productive forwards. However, our award goes to England flank Tom Wood – making plenty of metres with ball in hand, invaluable on defence and an asset in the line-outs.
Moment of the match: There were three great tries and Paul O'Connell's score midway through the second half got his team back into the game. However, the two crucial Owen Farrell penalties – in the 72nd and 77th minutes – sealed the win.
Villain of the match: Nothing villainous, unless you were offended by the high error count on both sides.
The scorers:
For England:
Tries: May, Watson
Con: Ford
Pens: Ford, Farrell 2
For Ireland:
Try: O'Connell
Con: Sexton
Pens: Sexton 2
Teams:
England: 15 Mike Brown, 14 Anthony Watson, 13 Jonathan Joseph, 12 Brad Barritt, 11 Jonny May, 10 George Ford, 9 Ben Youngs; 8 Ben Morgan, 7 Chris Robshaw (captain), 6 Tom Wood, 5 Geoff Parling, 4 Courtney Lawes, 3 Dan Cole, 2 Tom Youngs, 1 Joe Marler.
Replacements: 16 Jamie George, 17 Mako Vunipola, 18 Kieran Brookes, 19 Joe Launchbury, 20 Billy Vunipola, 21 Richard Wigglesworth, 22 Owen Farrell, 23 Sam Burgess.
Ireland: 15 Simon Zebo, 14 Tommy Bowe, 13 Jared Payne, 12 Robbie Henshaw, 11 Dave Kearney, 10 Johnny Sexton, 9 Conor Murray, 8 Jamie Heaslip, 7 Sean O'Brien, 6 Peter O'Mahony, 5 Paul O'Connell (captain), 4 Devin Toner, 3 Mike Ross, 2 Rory Best, 1 Jack McGrath.
Replacements: 16 Richardt Strauss, 17 Tadhg Furlong, 18 Nathan White, 19 Donnacha Ryan, 20 Chris Henry, 21 Eoin Reddan, 22 Ian Madigan, 23 Darren Cave.
Referee: Nigel Owens (Wales)
Assistant referees: Romaine Poite (France), Leighton Hodges (Wales)
TMO: Shaun Veldsman (South Africa)
AFP & rugby365
