England v Ireland LIVE: Result and reaction from Six Nations as Marcus Smith denies Irish grand slam with last-gasp drop goal
England 23-22 Ireland: Smith slotted a drop goal with the final kick to snatch a shock victory for the hosts and stop back-to-back Irish grand slams
Marcus Smith slotted a last-minute drop goal as England ended Ireland’s double grand slam dream with an exhilarating 23-22 win in a display of their best attacking rugby for years to take the Six Nations championship to the final round.
After Scotland’s shock loss to Italy, Ireland knew victory would give them the title with a round to spare and set them up for back-to-back grand slams and they looked on course with a 12-8 half-time lead via four Jack Crowley penalties despite England scoring the only try through Ollie Lawrence.
Ireland surged 17-8 ahead thanks to James Lowe’s try early in the second half but England roared back with scores from George Furbank and Ben Earl to edge three points clear heading into the final quarter.
A second Lowe try put Ireland back in front, only for replacement fly half Smith to send Twickenham wild at the death as he dropped back and slotted the decisive drop goal for the best performance and result of the Steve Borthwick era.
Relive all the action from England v Ireland below:
England 8-6 Ireland, 26 mins
Solid scrum by Ireland, no counter-push by England and the visitors boot clear to halfway.
NO TRY! England 8-6 Ireland, 25 mins
A bounce of the ball and Ollie Lawrence is over for his second try! Or is he? This will be checked.
RULED OUT BY THE TMO. Lawrence stabbed a grubber kick though, it bounced awkwardly and Furbank contested with Frawley, flicking the ball out of his hands, where Lawrence scooped and ran in for the score. But Furbank knocked on in the process of competing with Frawley.
We’re also checking for a high tackle on Genge but nothing doing there, so an Ireland scrum deep in their own 22. Phew!
England 8-6 Ireland, 24 mins
Ireland scramble a kick clear from behind their own line but England run it back.
England 8-6 Ireland, 22 mins
Five-metre lineout for England. The lineout should be a strength with the pack Borthwick has selected.
Trick play! Chessum runs into the lineout late and catches the ball on the run. England within a couple of metres of the line.
But Tadhg Beirne with a huge turnover!
England 8-6 Ireland, 22 mins
For the second time this game, Ford tries a drop goal (the first being when England had a penalty advantage) but he’s not set up properly and it’s blocked. The ball bounces back to England though and they fortunately retain possession.
They then win a penalty near the right touchline and kick to the corner...
England 8-6 Ireland, 21 mins
Nash has failed his HIA by the way, so it’s Frawley on for the rest of the game, with Keenan on the wing. A slight weakness to exploit for England?
Ireland make a mess of the kick-off and England have a lineout on the Irish 22
PENALTY! England 8-6 Ireland (Jack Crowley, 20 mins)
No mistake from Jack Crowley. In front of the posts, he slots it to narrow the gap.
England 8-3 Ireland, 20 mins
Ireland on the attack here as they win a penalty in midfield, kick to the corner and then win another when Lawrence is caught offside at a ruck. This is kickable for Crowley
WATCH: Ollie Lawrence scores early try for England
Here was that Ollie Lawrence try that set England on their way
England 8-3 Ireland, 18 mins
Analysis from our man at Twickenham, Harry Latham-Coyle
This has been an encouraging start from England in attack, winning collisions and playing with good speed and width. You wondered where their carrying punch was going to come from without a big ball carrier in the back row, and Ellis Genge is being used heavily from a variety of angles to provide go forward. Can they sustain this sort of intensity?
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