The opening weekend of a Six Nations campaign is all about starting fast and then sustaining that momentum. England were encouragingly quick out of the stalls but, not for the first time, were unable to kick on when it really counted. Instead it is the reigning champions, Ireland, who are up and running, courtesy of an uninterrupted blast of 22 second-half points that condemned Steve Borthwick’s side to a seventh defeat in their last nine Tests.
Talk about a game of two contrasting halves. Initially a bristling England were right up for it and led 10-5 at the interval. They reckoned without storming, game-turning tries from Bundee Aki, Tadhg Beirne and Dan Sheehan and a collective Irish power surge that allowed the hosts to weather a slightly sticky first 40 minutes and grasp a potentially vital try bonus point.
