England were outfought and outsmarted in the second half in Dublin after leading going into half-time.

Excellent performances from the home side fuelled a superb fightback, to which England ultimately had little answer.

Here, Telegraph Sport runs the rule over the players on both teams.

England

15. Freddie Steward

His worst nightmare of facing a scrum-half in open space recurred as Gibson-Park did him dirty as badly as Grant Williams had. England need more than a safety blanket at full-back. 4/10

14. Tommy Freeman

Fascinating battle on the wing with Lowe, who generally won the high-ball contest and then slipped through his grasp for the last try, although he snatched a bonus point. 6/10

13. Ollie Lawrence

Far more like the play we regularly see for Bath, carrying hard into both contact and into open space, helping to create the consolation try for Tom Curry. 7/10

12. Henry Slade

Brilliant grubber for Murley’s try and put in some massive tackles, especially to force Aki to knock on but then faded from view to the point of invisibility. 6/10

11. Cadan Murley

After what was set to be a dream debut, scoring a try after eight minutes, Ireland turned his life into a nightmare, forcing him into some horribly naive errors. 4/10

10. Marcus Smith

Remember how the ‘who should start at No 10?’ debate was settled? Not any more. Smith started strongly but became far less influential, picking up a yellow card and getting run over for Aki’s try. 6/10

9. Alex Mitchell

Done all ends up after showing Lowe the outside for Gibson-Park’s try. A few other uncharacteristic errors but then England’s attack stopped functioning when he went off. 5/10

1. Ellis Genge

A few old-fashioned rampaging runs and finished as England’s top carrier. One penalty went against him at the scrum where England were largely going backwards. 6/10

2. Luke Cowan-Dickie

Faced an onerous task with Ireland double-marking Itoje at the line-out. A busy performance in the loose without any real explosive moments. 6/10

3. Will Stuart

England scrum was under a far bit of pressure but he just about held on. One missed clean out led to a Beirne turnover for Ireland. 6/10

4. Maro Itoje

Precisely the performance Steve Borthwick wanted from his captain. Got through a mountain of work and led the hounding effort of Prendergast to excellent effect. Can’t be faulted. 8/10

5. George Martin

After a disappointing autumn campaign, Martin was back in his element, tackling anything in green. Will be in for a busy afternoon against France’s behemoths. 7/10

6. Tom Curry

Best performance in an England shirt in some time. Dominated the breakdown battle, winning a massive holding-on penalty on his own 22 when they were on the ropes in the first half. 7/10

7. Ben Curry

Went after Prendergast like a hound from hell and smoked the young Irish fly-half on more than one occasion. Was top of the tackle chart when he went off. 7/10

8. Ben Earl

This was far more like the Earl of last year’s Six Nations, winning turnovers and making breaks. Did drop a restart and was a slight surprise when he was replaced after 56 minutes. 6/10

Replacements: Stop me if you’ve heard this one before, but England’s bench were not very good. Probably only Smith contributed anything positive. The rest was horrid. 3/10

Theo Dan (for Cowan-Dickie, 56), Fin Baxter (for Genge, 71), Joe Heyes (for Stuart, 37-40, 50-59, 79), Ollie Chessum (for Martin, 59), Chandler Cunningham-South (for B Curry, 59), Tom Willis (for Earl, 56), Harry Randall (for Mitchell, 64), Fin Smith (for Steward, 64)

Ireland

15. Hugo Keenan

Spilled a pop pass from Kelleher early on but improved as game wore on. Great cover tackle on Earl. Lovely kick chase to bundle Murley into touch. 7/10

14. Mack Hansen

Confusion over early ‘blood injury’ when he appeared to be limping off. Returned to give Ireland some go-forward but limited contribution. 6/10

13 Garry Ringrose

Had to switch out wide for a bit after Hansen came on. Solid performance from the Leinster back. 7/10

12. Bundee Aki

Showed brilliant strength to hold off three England players and go over in the corner. Usual barrelling runs. 7/10

11. James Lowe

Really improved as the game wore on. Shrugged off Mitchell to send Gibson-Park away for his try. Put Sheehan over for his try. A menace with the boot. 8/10

10. Sam Prendergast

Will be sweating on his place for Scotland. Nightmare start, booting away possession a couple times and panicking when he might have gone over. Passing was superb and he did nail a long penalty but missed both conversions. 5/10

9. Jamison Gibson-Park

Stepped Steward like Grant Williams in the autumn for a lovely try. Lovely up and under spilled by Murley. Put Lowe through a gap for Ireland’s second try. 8/10

1. Andrew Porter

Not one of the Leinster prop’s barnstorming performances but solid at scrum time and put in a shift. 6/10

2. Ronan Kelleher

Thought he had scored an early try to get Ireland level only to find it chalked off. And Sheehan’s try-scoring cameo will have him sweating on his spot. 6/10

3. Finlay Bealham

Part of a front row which secured 100 per cent possession at scrum time (7/7 while he was on pitch). So crucial that he stays fit given Furlong’s injury. 6/10

4. James Ryan

Gave away a couple of silly penalties in first half, but also contributed to a much improved line-out performance from Ireland. 6/10

5. Tadhg Beirne

Another eye-catching performance from the all-action lock. Was guilty of holding on to Itoje in the ruck, which saw Kelleher’s try ruled out. But was a pest at the breakdown, and scored a great try with a fine supporting run. 8/10

6. Ryan Baird

Picked for his line-out prowess and pace in the loose, and he showed both facets but did not nail down his spot. Conan made a difference when he came on. 6/10

7. Josh van der Flier

Always gets through a mountain of work and no surprise he was top of the charts for Ireland in terms of tackles completed (17). One of Ireland’s better forwards in dodgy first half. 7/10

8. Caelan Doris

Could not contain a smile during anthems but Ireland’s captain did not have his best game. Strayed offside a few times, knocked on. 6/10

Replacements: Bench made a huge difference for Ireland. Conan immense, Sheehan scoring on his return after six months out, Crowley benefiting from broken game. 8/10

Dan Sheehan (for Kelleher, 50), Cian Healy (for Porter, 73), Thomas Clarkson (for Bealham, 59), Iain Henderson (for Ryan, 62), Jack Conan (for Baird, 50), Conor Murray (for Gibson-Park), Jack Crowley (for Prendergast, 59), Robbie Henshaw (for Aki, 58).