Marcus Smith’s drop goal denies Ireland Six Nations title as England win thriller

In the great scheme of things one result does not completely reshape the rugby landscape. Ireland, barring a spectacular stumble at the final hurdle, will still be crowned as this season’s Six Nations champions and remain a high-class side. This was the day, though, when England finally displayed their oft-discussed potential and gave their longsuffering supporters a glimpse of something more uplifting.

There will be no back-to-back Irish grand slams and, on this evidence, rightly so. Because this was as positive and purposeful a display as England have produced since 2019, in defiance of the pre-game odds which gave Ireland an 11-point start. The bright side of the road was supposedly wide open for the unbeaten Irish but, even at 22-20 down in the closing seconds, there was to be no stopping a pimped-up sweet chariot.

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Gone was the brittle self-confidence of their Calcutta Cup defeat in Scotland, replaced by a can-do attitude from first to last. Ireland, having inched back in front eight minutes from time through James Lowe’s second acrobatic try, must have fancied they had ridden out the storm. They reckoned without England coming again and forcing one last penalty advantage. The kick would have been straightforward enough but instead the ball was whipped back to Marcus Smith and the fly-half’s point-blank drop goal completed the first English win in this fixture in five attempts.

Smith will be the first to salute the hard work of those in front of him, with Ben Earl, George Martin and Ollie Chessum all outstanding, but the previously injured Harlequins fly-half has had to sit out England’s past three games and must have feared fate had other plans for him. Finally, though, England have broken free of their mental shackles and can look to the future with renewed optimism, starting against France in Lyon on Saturday.

It all made for a thrilling contest, with a storming early try for Ollie Lawrence setting the tone and George Furbank finishing off another flowing attack seven minutes into the second half. Then, with Ireland’s captain, Peter O’Mahony, in the sin-bin, England struck for a third time through a pumped-up Earl with 20 minutes remaining. Would it be enough? It turned out that the real drama was only just beginning.

After Scotland’s defeat in Rome, England seemed to have an alternative script in mind from the outset. As early as the fourth minute Furbank came sprinting out from the back and the Irish defender Calvin Nash came off second best in a collision with Tommy Freeman as he rushed up to cut off the danger. It freed up some space on the left and Henry Slade deftly put Lawrence over.

For those more familiar with a diet of English stodge it was like spotting the first hopeful crocus of a brighter spring. And, to their credit, England kept on coming. Ireland, initially calm and assured, found themselves being thumped backwards and hustled in possession by opponents clearly determined to give them a proper rattle.

With Ford adding another penalty and Nash failing his head injury assessment, the English defence was also several notches up on their previous tournament efforts. Chessum, anxious to join the fun, put in a huge hit on Bundee Aki, hurting his own shoulder in the process but pumping up the crowd even more.

Suddenly it was Ireland defending for their lives and, momentarily, it seemed Lawrence might have a second try. The Bath centre’s chip ahead, however, went forward off Furbank’s fingers and the score was correctly disallowed. On the upside England’s intent to play had already transformed the mood within the stadium, not to mention in thousands of living rooms. Here, finally, was the promised transformation from ugly slow-ball ducklings to fast-moving swans. Had George Ford landed a very kickable penalty after half an hour there would have been even greater first-half reward.

Ireland, though, are a durable bunch. There was a perfect example of their all-court ability when Chessum thundered up into midfield and was again met by his nemesis Aki. The squat centre was quickest to react after the collision, winning a jackal turnover that allowed Jack Crowley to kick a low, scudding 45-metre penalty and put the visitors ahead for the first time.

At that stage it felt a pivotal moment. The Irish, having weathered a prolonged storm, finally had the chance to revert to what they do so well and a typical left-foot howitzer from Lowe gave Furbank a dilemma close to the sideline. He opted to catch it but his right foot grazed the whitewash to hand Ireland the attacking lineout. Another three points for offside materialised shortly afterwards and, for the fourth time in four Six Nations matches, England trotted in behind at the interval.

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Would that be the ballgame? It seemed so when Lowe dived into the left corner four minutes after the restart to give his side a nine-point advantage. England, though, refused to stop playing and Furbank’s try visibly reinvigorated all concerned even before Earl’s score restored the hosts’ advantage.

With Danny Care also trotting on to win his 100th Test cap, could the fairytale finish be completed? Initially it seemed not. With Ireland back up to 15 players, good hands again gave the ponytailed Lowe the chance to crash past Smith in the left corner. Crowley’s conversion attempt was mis-hit, to leave the door ajar for Elliot Daly, only for the replacement’s own long-range penalty attempt to drift wide. By now bodies from both teams were littering the field but, against all the odds, it was England who came home the stronger side.