In the third round of the Six Nations, Ireland produced a sensational attack to defeat England 42-21 at the stunning Allianz Stadium in Twickenham.
Scrum-half Jamison Gibson-Park, wingers Robert Balkoon and Tommy O’Brien, hooker Dan Sheehan and full-back Jamie Osborne scored five tries for Andy Farrell’s side in the win.
Ireland fly-half Jack Crowley (returning to the competition in place of Sam Prendergast) also added 17 points for his boot with three penalties and four conversions.
England, who had Freddie Steward and Henry Pollock sin-binned in the first half, scored tries from centers Fraser Dingwall and Olly Lawrence, and substitute Sam Underhill, but suffered a comprehensive defeat and suffered their first home defeat since 2024.
Meanwhile, Ireland made winning history with their highest ever points total and margin of victory against Twickenham, surpassing the 32 points they scored in March 2022 when they were within 17 points of each other.
Ireland posted a record points total and margin of victory against Twickenham, but England suffered their first home defeat since 2024.
Ireland got off to a strong start with some smart tactical kicks into touch from Crawley, and ran to 22 points with Tajig Balin’s lineout steal and great offload, before James Rowe spilled into touch with no pressure.
Following a turnover in Joe McCarthy’s maul, Ireland soon attacked again with great pace and Crowley kicked the lead in the ninth minute after England were ruled offside.
Jack Crowley kicked the first points of the Test in the 9th minute.
George Ford soon took a penalty kick out of touch for a corner, but on England’s first possession in the 22nd minute, the visitors dug in and forced a stewards knock-on.
England won a penalty for the head in a scrum soon after, but Ford missed a second penalty for touch in a row, this time kicking dead as Twickenham groaned.
Instead, Ireland scored their first try in the 20th minute with Balkoon and O’Brien combining for their 22nd goal, and as McCarthy continued and England hit back, Gibson Park took a deft quick-tap penalty and slid into the corner.
Jamison Gibson-Park produced a quick tap try in the first half.
Ireland and Gibson Park were denied a second try shortly after due to a harsh refereeing decision, with O’Brien being penalized for making mid-air contact with a steward as both teams were playing under the Crawley skyscraper.
It didn’t matter for the visitors, who scored their second try in the 27th minute. O’Brien won a high ball, Stuart McCloskey smashed past Lawrence and Gibson Park played a long pass to Balkoon.
England were also reduced to 14 men after the stewards were found guilty of cynically playing Gibson Park before nine men received the pass.
Referee Andrea Piardi made a misjudgment when Crowley attempted a kick pass after Josh van der Flier almost put Ireland back in the lead after a break from Josh van der Flier, which was marked by Henry Arundel, causing the referee to pull a quad and be substituted.
In the 30th minute Ireland had some great work from Balkoon to thwart Tommy Freeman with dummy and pace, allowing O’Brien to score his third try. When Crowley converted, Ireland’s lead was an astonishing 22-0.
Tommy O’Brien scores Ireland’s third try after a great attack from Balkoon.
England put on a lot of pressure before the end of the first half, but Ireland appeared to have done enough when Balkoun and Tadhg Furlong denied Jamie George before Balne denied the hosts with some fine breakdown defense on the tryline before the break.
But Sheehan kept the pressure on Ireland by knocking down his own 22, and on the final play of the first half Dingwall jumped over a stretched Ireland.
Ford’s conversion made the half-time score 22-7, but the visitors came on with similar force as the second half began, closing in on the tryline with bulldozing carries from Caelan Doris and McCloskey, with Pollock faulted for failing to release on the tryline.
Fraser Dingwall scored in the last play of the first half for England, but Ireland also started the second period well.
Less than a minute later, Ireland scored their fourth try, with Furlong and McCloskey scoring, Sheehan diving and Crowley converting to make it 29-7.
The hosts scored their second try in the 54th minute when Lawrence hit the post and Ireland were reduced to 14 points as Osborne was sin-binned.
However, England were unable to take advantage of the extra men and Crowley added a penalty in the 59th minute after Bevan Rodd had a hand in the ruck.
Dan Sheehan scored Ireland’s fourth try early in the second half.
Just before Ireland’s return in the 15, Freeman had space to run to the corner, but a fine double tackle from Balkoon and O’Brien forced Freeman into touch and Osborne resurfaced.
Instead, the next time Ireland scored was when Crowley added a penalty after Guy Pepper was kicked at the breakdown, giving Ireland their fifth try with 10 minutes remaining. A more fluid attack and sharp hands in the 22nd minute created space for Osborne to break through and finish well.
Jamie Osborne makes history at Twickenham by scoring Ireland’s fifth try.
Crawley converted for an incredible score and Underhill scored in the closing stages, but England suffered a huge blow as they failed to rush in for a fourth try, which would have given them a bonus point.
‘It’s not enough’ – Itoje says he needs to accept responsibility
England captain Maro Itoje told ITV.
“I think we passed the ball around too much in the first half. We weren’t clinical when we got into the opponent’s half. As players, we have to have possession of the ball. We have to take responsibility and make sure we get better.”
“At the end of the day, we weren’t accurate. We put ourselves in good positions, but we didn’t get any points or scores. We know we’re not good enough. We’re going to try harder to get it right.”
“We have to take care of the ball. We have to make sure our possession is accurate. We ended up turning the ball over too much.”
Sheehan: One of our best performances ever.
Irish hooker Dan Sheehan told ITV:
“We are a very hungry group. We believe in ourselves very much. We have been under a lot of pressure from the media.
“That performance was truly one of the best we’ve ever had.
“We have come together and we have ignored it. When we all come together, special things happen.
“It’s special to get this win at Twickenham.”
What’s next?
England next face Italy in the Six Nations fourth leg in Rome at the Stadio Olimpico on Saturday 7th March (kick-off 4.40pm).
Ireland host Wales at the Aviva Stadium in Dublin on Friday 6 March (kick-off 8.10pm) in their fourth Six Nations fixture.
