Swing Lowe, sweet chariot
There is a valid criticism about the Irish wingers Mack Hansen and James Lowe that they do not have the raw pace that can burn a defence. But equally the pair are hugely effective in different ways and on Saturday Lowe proved his worth once again. He does it regularly and out wide is as effective as Bundee Aki is in making ground, even when it is cluttered with opposition bodies. Aki, of course, skittled away three England players for his try. But the Irish left wing showed his effectiveness when he broke and delivered to Tadhg Beirne to score. Before that – when Alex Mitchell appeared to have him out wide – his low centre of gravity kept him from falling over and his strength was able to shake off the tackle and deliver to Jamison Gibson-Park. Not your typical winger but critically Lowe rarely has a quiet game for Ireland.
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Depth chart looks positive
Ireland’s depth again shone through at the Aviva. Robbie Henshaw had an early run for Mack Hansen but when he came on at the allotted time in the second half along with the likes of Jack Conan, Dan Sheehan, Ian Henderson and Jack Crowley et al, not only did Ireland hold steady but began to move the scoreboard. Crowley converted Sheehan’s try on 71 minutes and Beirne’s on 64 minutes. There is much talk about depth charts and whether Ireland have enough, especially in the front row. With Tadhg Furlong missing Finlay Bealham was rock steady in the Irish scrum, although if Andrew Porter were to be injured that could be problematic. Cian Healy has had freakish longevity but should not be asked to put in a 73-minute test match shift as Porter magnificently did against England on Saturday.
Late tries mildly concerning
So, what is the upside of two late tries going in against the Irish team. Simon Easterby might be pondering that question as Steve Borthwick’s England side managed to score twice in the final minutes, reducing the final deficit to 27-22 and securing a valuable losing bonus point. It wasn’t a comeback to rattle Ireland’s composure, but the bonus point could come in handy for England come the close of business on St Patrick’s Day weekend. Easterby can find plenty of positives in Ireland’s performance with 22 second-half points but if needs be, he can also use the tries from Tom Curry and Tommy Freeman, when the clock was in the red, as a rod for Irish backs. Ireland don’t do complacency but if they did there’s a ready remedy at the end of the match to show just how things can change on a dime.
On a wing and a prayer
In the first half of the match there appeared to be an effort by England to get quick ball wide to their wing men Tommy Freeman and Caden Murley. On occasion flankers were also lurking out beside the touchline. Steve Borthwick clearly saw that Ireland can sometimes become narrow in defence, with outhalf Marcus Smith instructed to test them on the fringes with crossfield kicks. Smith did that several times, with Hugo Keenan and others forced into aerial challenges and on another occasion Bundee Aki was forced to cover and clip heels. England generally kicked more against Ireland, with the statistics at the end of the match showing that they had 30 short tactical kicks compared to 18 from the home side. Ireland, however, did kick more longer balls than England with 13 over the course of the match, to eight.
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Breakdown broke down in first half
One of the aspects of Ireland’s opener that other teams will look at closely is how England were able to dominate the breakdown in the first half. Sides generally know what Ireland are good at doing but they got a glimpse of what can upset shape and performance when England’s abrasive and fast forwards brought up the tempo, speed and accuracy of their play at the breakdown. Tom Curry, twin brother Ben and Ben Earl combined to help England dominate one of the key battlegrounds in the first 40 minutes, allowing them to win the first half. It was an area that Borthwick and England captain Maro Itoje mentioned after the match as pleasing. England could not sustain the blitz throughout the second half, but it will give other sides ideas of how they can go about unsettling one of the strongest sides in the competition.
