Robbie Henshaw’s first international try was the highlight of Ireland’s record-equaling tenth straight win as they beat England for the first time since 2011.
An engrossed Aviva Stadium crowd watched Ireland burst out of the blocks, going close to an early try before Jonathan Sexton’s three penalties from four attempts had them leading 9-3 at half-time.
Joe Schmidt’s men put on a 10-point scoring burst at the start of the second half, Sexton landing another penalty and RBS man-of-the-match Robbie Henshaw reaching above Alex Goode to collect Conor Murray’s deft chip and touch down in the right corner.
Sexton swung over the difficult conversion for good measure, although he injured his hamstring in doing so and was replaced by Ian Madigan for the concluding half hour.
Ireland’s bench played an important role in closing out the win, with replacements Cian Healy, Iain Henderson and Tommy O’Donnell all featuring prominent in defence, maintaining the relentless efficiency and proud defensive record of a team that had conceded just one try so far in the 2015 RBS 6 Nations.
Two penalties from George Ford, adding to his first half drop goal, did give England momentum in the final quarter and they had two near misses for tries – Nick Easter was penalised for driving into his team-mate Billy Twelvetrees as he went for the line, and a forward pass ruled out a Jack Nowell effort in the dying seconds.
However, Ireland stood firm at the end of a bruising and attritional Test match, deservedly securing their third victory of the Championship which gives them a two-point buffer at the top ahead of the upcoming away trips to Wales (March 14) and Scotland (March 21).
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