Farrrell hails Ireland’s ‘special day’

Ireland’s biggest points tally in an away fixture against England; it also bettered the 17-point margin of victory they enjoyed at the home of English rugby four years ago.

It was England’s fifth heaviest defeat at home – on the same piece of south-west London real estate where only two weeks earlier they smashed Wales 48-7.

Steve Borthwick’s side’s run of nine consecutive home wins was left in tatters – along with their Six Nations title ambitions. Ireland’s championship, by contrast, is revitalised thanks to their sixth victory over England in their past seven meetings. An incredible statistic.

“It’s a special day, 100 per cent. To come here and perform like that,” said Farrell. “We’re delighted. But even more so than that for us, I thought the respect the lads showed for one another out there was immense.

“The respect they showed for the jersey and what it meant to them and respect for the Irish people really. To learn some lessons and grow as a group and a team was the overriding feeling for me.”

Jamison Gibson-Park was the player of the match on that victorious Twickenham occasion in 2022 – just as he was last Saturday. The surroundings clearly bring out the best in him. The Leinster scrum half was simply brilliant. But he wasn’t alone. Farrell’s side had stand-out performers all over the pitch, and England simply couldn’t match them in any facet.

Borthwick’s men were left shell-shocked by an Irish performance characterised by attacking flair and defensive resilience. Ireland had travelled to London wary of an England backlash from their defeat to Scotland at Murrayfield, but it never materialised.

Instead, it was Ireland who grabbed the game by the scruff of the neck to score three clinical tries through Gibson-Park and wingers Robert Baloucoune and Tommy O’Brien. Only Fraser Dingwall’s late try ensured Borthwick’s men avoided the indignity of being kept scoreless at the break.

Even so, Ireland wasted little time in building on their 22-7 interval lead – the fourth-most first-half points conceded by England at home. Dan Sheehan’s early second-half try swiftly put paid to English hopes of an Irish capitulation. Jack Crowley’s boot and Jamie Osborne’s try simply rubber-stamped Ireland’s superiority.

The Munster fly half finished with an impressive Twickenham haul of 17 points. The number ten jersey is now his – at least for a while, anyway. On an afternoon where records tumbled, perhaps the overriding image of Ireland’s hunger was that of Stuart McCloskey giving Marcus Smith a gaping head start, before chasing him down with ease to bundle the Quins man into touch.

It mattered not to the Ulster centre that Ireland’s lead at the time was 42-14 and a memorable London afternoon long since assured. Ireland captain Caelan Doris made no attempt to play down the potential significance of the win and performance, calling it “big”.

“I spoke to you guys about Paris being a reference point and hopefully we’ll see a pretty steep incline in performances,” he said. “I think this will now be a reference point that we look back on as a proper good performance that’s given us a lot of belief.

“It was an unbelievable atmosphere out there. You talk about inspiring the nation and getting the Irish people behind us. Hopefully that brought people here and back at home a bit of joy today.”

Farrell had urged his players to “fire a few shots” at Twickenham. They did a bit more than that. “Honestly, I said it to the lads, I didn’t care whether we won or lost today, just whether we grew as a group, because we know where we want to go to and it just so happens that to the people of Ireland winning does matter and it brings a bit of joy on everyone’s face,” said Farrell.

“For them, I mean the crowd, the people that turned up, it was immense. I hope everyone at home is just as proud as well.”

Farrell’s men gave them a Six Nations Twickenham day to rival those of 1974, 1982, 1994, 2004, 2006, 2018 and 2022.

The Six Nations title may still be firmly in France’s hands – it’s certainly hard to see England winning in Paris on this evidence – but Ireland are a team transformed from the one which was comprehensively second-best to France (36-14). And indeed, from the one which trailed Italy 10-5 at half-time in Dublin.

The signs of recovery were there in the second period as Farrell’s men produced a second-half display of far greater intensity to prevail 20-13 over the Italians.

With home games to come against a struggling Wales on Friday 6 March, and a rejuvenated Scotland on Saturday 14 March, a Triple Crown and a second-place finish is there for Farrell’s men.

For a team widely regarded as being in transition and decimated by injuries on the eve of their Paris trip, four wins from five would be a very encouraging return. If France are to slip up, it could be against Scotland at Murrayfield on Saturday 7 March.