LONDON – A much improved England team has proved too strong for Ireland winning 21-13 in their final World Cup warm-up match at Twickenham on Saturday.
It was an angry England that started the game as they spent the first 10 minutes camped in Ireland’s 22. And it was a far cry from their lethargic start in Paris when Jonny May bulldozed over two players from 15 metres out to score in the corner after just three minutes.
Scrum half Ben Youngs was solid at the base as it was a marked improvement from the England pack who dominated the break down in the early stages of the match. In addition to upping the intensity from previous warm-up matches, their set piece was also far better which provided the back line with a more solid platform with which to launch their attack.
Tom Wood registered a man of the match performance as he was relentless in defence and in the breakdown while Chris Robshaw was also immense with ball in hand and at the breakdown on defence.
As for the visitors, Ireland were shellshocked after the first 15 minutes and they didn’t seem to recover until the end of the first half when they finally looked like scoring. Their back row failed to deal with England’s intensity at the breakdown and were unable to get into the match.
After going into the sheds 12-3 down, it was a much improved performance by the visitors on their return to the field and it coincided with a drop in intensity from England which allowed Ireland back into the match.
Paul O’Connell was good for the visitors as was his locking partner Devin Toner. But they never really looked like getting a result after England’s fast start.