So much for all those expectations of a tight two-horse race. For the second week running England were barely in the frame, comprehensively second best to opponents who started well and kept on galloping to a five-try rout. This was a record Irish win at Twickenham and it is Andy Farrell’s side who remain in the hunt for this season’s Six Nations title while England stare down the barrel of a bottom-half finish.
To say Ireland were miles the better side is simply to state the obvious. The seeds of England’s downfall were sown in a calamitous first half which saw the visitors pull away to a 22-0 lead inside 30 minutes. As in Edinburgh they were guilty of way too many errors, with their lineout all over the shop. They also conceded 15 turnovers in the opening 40 minutes alone in addition to another yellow card, this time for Freddie Steward. It was so bad that Steve Borthwick replaced Luke Cowan-Dickie and Steward for tactical reasons even before the half-time oranges had been sliced.
