Ireland 27-22 England: Second-half comeback secures winning start for hosts
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Ireland rallied from a slow start to come from behind and claim a win in their Six Nations opener, beating England 27-22.
The hosts ran riot in the second half, but a late rally by England ensured they at least would not leave the Aviva Stadium empty-handed.
England started brightly and got their reward early on. Henry Slade snuck a clever kick past an off-balance Hugo Keenan, with Cadan Murley alert to scoop it up and cross the line for a debut try before Marcus Smith added the conversion.
Ireland's quick response through Ronan Kelleher was chalked off for a hold by Tadhg Beirne on Maro Itoje. They would get off the mark in the 35th minute though, as James Lowe shrugged off Alex Mitchell before knocking it onto Jamison Gibson-Park, who raced through a huge gap to cross while Smith was in the sin bin.
Sam Prendergast struck the post with the conversion, allowing England to open up a five-point lead at the break, Smith kicking a penalty after returning to the pitch.
Bundee Aki started the Ireland charge after the restart, pushing his way past three defenders to cross on the left, and despite missing another conversion, Prendergast made no mistake with a penalty which finally gave the hosts the lead.
England struggled to regain their rhythm and were punished for leaving another big gap in behind as Beirne crossed unchallenged before they got a bonus-point try thanks to Dan Sheehan and Jack Conway's conversion.
Tom Curry and Tommy Freeman restored some late pride for England, finally getting them on the board in the second half, but it was too little, too late for the visitors.
☘️ Dominant final quarter from the home side as they secure a hard fought bonus point win.
— Ultimate Rugby (@ultimaterugby) February 1, 2025
9️⃣ Gibson-Park named Man of the Match after another brilliant performance
2️⃣ Sheehan makes a try scoring return#IREvENG pic.twitter.com/pFVylpcxW3
Data Debrief: Off to a flier
It is unusual for these two sides to meet so early in the Six Nations, though they certainly did not disappoint.
England, who beat Ireland in the competition last year to deny them a grand slam, had hopes of making it back-to-back wins over their opponents. For them to lead at the break was also a rare occurrence, as they trailed at half-time in all five of their matches in the competition in 2024.
However, Ireland's comeback should not come as a surprise - they have now lost just two of their last 30 home fixtures in the Six Nations (W26 D2), a run stretching back to 2013.
