Ireland stun England with record win at Twickenham

MATCH REPORT: Ireland underlined their Six Nations title credentials with a statement 42-21 bonus-point victory over England at Allianz Stadium, Twickenham, on Saturday.

Ireland scored five tries in all during a record win at Twickenham, surpassing the 32-15 success in 2022.

It meant they head into the Championship’s follow-up week with two wins and a loss from their opening three games, following a 14-36 defeat by title-holders France in their tournament opener.

*To recap all the action CLICK HERE!!

By contrast, England’s first Twickenham defeat since a November 2024 loss to world champions South Africa followed last week’s 31-20 reverse away to oldest rivals Scotland, which ended their 12-game winning streak.

Jamison Gibson-Park, Robert Baloucoune and replacement back Tommy O’Brien all ran in tries before the interval, with Dan Sheehan powering over from close range early in the second half for Ireland’s bonus-point score.

Discipline again proved a problem for England, with fullback Freddie Steward and No.8 Henry Pollock, making his first Test start, both shown yellow cards in skipper Maro Itoje’s 100th Red Rose appearance.

Ireland dropped Sam Prendergast from their matchday 23 entirely after the flyhalf’s error-strewn display in last week’s unconvincing 20-13 win at home to Italy, with Jack Crowley installed in the No.10 shirt.

Ireland coach Andy Farrell also recalled British and Irish Lions Gibson-Park, Tadhg Beirne, Tadhg Furlong and Josh van der Flier.

Another mountain to climb

Crowley opened the scoring with an eighth-minute penalty.

Committed Irish defence kept England at bay and the hosts did not help themselves when veteran flyhalf George Ford kicked a penalty dead when trying to set up an attacking line-out.

Ireland’s defensive effort was rewarded when Gibson-Park caught England cold in the 19th minute, his quickly-taken tap penalty near the line leading to an opportunistic try.

Crowley landed the tough conversion from out on the left.

England scrumhalf Alex Mitchell went off injured in the 25th minute.

Amid the disruption, England were 0-15 behind after Ireland scored their second try in the 28th minute.

Stuart McCloskey burst through England’s defensive line, with the 33-year-old centre sprinting clear before Gibson-Park’s cut-out pass sent in Baloucoune at the corner.

To make matters worse for England, fullback Steward was yellow-carded for an illegal challenge on Gibson-Park.

Crowley missed the conversion but England had another mountain to climb after last week falling 17-0 behind against Scotland.

Italian referee Andrea Piardi went off injured, with France’s Pierre Brousset taking his place, but there was no change to the course of the game as Ireland scored a second try in two minutes and a third in 10.

Baluconne burst through the porous cover, his simple pass sending in O’Brien for a try in front of the posts that Crowley converted.

In the last play of the half, a rare spell of sustained England handling ended with replacement Marcus Smith, on for Steward, sending in centre Fraser Dingwall for a try converted by Ford.

Ireland, however, attacked again at the start of the second half with a surge towards England’s line, ending in a yellow card for Pollock.

From the ensuing close-range penalty, Sheehan powered over.

Ford sent in recalled centre Ollie Lawrence for a 55th-minute try that the stand-off converted to cut Ireland’s lead to 29-14.

But two Crowley penalties in the final quarter put the result beyond doubt before fullback Jamie Osborne dived over for Ireland’s fifth try in the 70th minute, with Gibson-Park leaving the field to huge applause from the travelling fans.

England replacement Sam Underhill scored a try four minutes from time but by then the damage had been done.

Player of the match: There was no shortage of standout performers in the Ireland shirt. Robert Baloucoune and Stuart McCloskey were hugely impressive in the backline, while Josh van der Flier found his form and made his usual abrasive impact at the breakdown. Dan Sheehan also deserves an honourable mention for another tireless display. However, our nod goes to Jamison Gibson-Park. The scrumhalf was simply incredible – dictating tempo, sniping around the fringes and keeping the attack ticking throughout – a masterclass in game management.

The socrers:

For England:
Tries: Dingwall, Lawrence, Underhill
Cons: Ford 3

For Ireland:
Tries: Gibson-Park, Baloucoune, O’Brien, Sheehan, Osborne
Cons: Crowley 4
Pens: Crowley 3

Yellow cards: Freddie Steward (England, 28 – Foul play, tackling the No.9), Henry Pollock (England, 42 – cynical play, slowing down play), Jamie Osborne (Ireland, 53 – cynical play, slowing down play)

Teams: 

England: 15 Freddie Steward, 14 Tommy Freeman, 13 Ollie Lawrence, 12 Fraser Dingwall, 11 Henry Arundell, 10 George Ford, 9 Alex Mitchell, 8 Henry Pollock, 7 Ben Earl, 6 Tom Curry, 5 Ollie Chessum, 4 Maro Itoje (captain), 3 Joe Heyes, 2 Luke Cowan-Dickie, 1 Ellis Genge
Replacements: 16 Jamie George, 17 Bevan Rodd, 18 Trevor Davison, 19 Alex Coles, 20 Guy Pepper, 21 Sam Underhill, 22 Jack van Poortvliet, 23 Marcus Smith

Ireland: 15 Jamie Osborne, 14 Robert Baloucoune, 13 Garry Ringrose, 12 Stuart McCloskey, 11 James Lowe, 10 Jack Crowley, 9 Jamison Gibson-Park, 8 Caelan Doris (captain), 7 Josh van der Flier, 6 Tadhg Beirne, 5 James Ryan, 4 Joe McCarthy, 3 Tadhg Furlong, 2 Dan Sheehan, 1 Jeremy Loughman.
Replacements: 16 Rónan Kelleher, 17 Tom O’Toole, 18 Finlay Bealham, 19 Nick Timoney, 20 Cian Prendergast, 21 Craig Casey, 22 Ciaran Frawley, 23 Tommy O’Brien.

Referee: Andrea Piardi (Italy)
Assistant referees: Pierre Brousset (France), Gianluca Gnecchi (Italy)
TMO: Matteo Liperini (Italy)