Henry Slade double sees England stun favourites Ireland in Six Nations opener
Relive all the action from the Six Nations clash at the Aviva Stadium
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Your support makes all the difference.England stunned reigning Six Nations champions Ireland 32-20 to take a giant step towards reclaiming their crown with a first win in Dublin for six years.
Leading 17-13 in an epic opening-weekend title showdown that lived up to expectations, they engineered the decisive moment in the 66th minute when Henry Slade and Jonny May combined brilliantly from a scrum for Slade to touch down.
It was a try made possible by the pace of May, who along with Jack Nowell on the opposite wing was magnificent throughout an afternoon of drama and high-quality rugby.
Owen Farrell was on target with a penalty to put the game beyond Ireland's reach as the Aviva Stadium was stormed for the first time in the Six Nations since 2013, securing Eddie Jones' 29th win in 36 Tests.
Joe Schmidt's Grand Slam champions fell apart in the closing stages, enabling Slade to plunder his second try, before replacement John Cooney restored some scoreboard credibility in the final seconds.
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Half-time: Well what a blinding half of rugby that was. It had everything: big hits, ill-discpline, three tries, nerves, yellow cards, the lot.
Somehow, England survivd with 14 men to not concede a point while Tom Curry was off, and when they're at their full compliment they look the slightly stronger side. However, when Ireland were able to get in range they showed their superior forward power to send Cian Healy over. England have at least been clinical, with smart running leading to Jonny May's opener and Elliot Daly taking full advantage of Jacob Stockdale's error, but there's still very little in it and it could go either way in the second half.
Here come the two sides. We're ready to get the second half underway!
One change for Ireland as Earls has gone off, which is no surprise given the treatment he got in that half, meaning Jordan Larmour is on.
43 mins: England make a strong start to the half with powerful runs from Billy Vunipola and Nowell, and Ireland, after securing their own lineout, kick clear but fail to make halfway.
47 mins: Sexton's cross-field kick is read perfectly by Farrell, and somehow he gets his own kick away under pressure from Stockdale for May to chase. Henshaw wins the race but he's tackled immediately, yet Garces rules against May for not rolling away, much to the wing's frustration. Sexton clears to touch, while Sinckler and O'Mahony are involved in a bit of afters, though there's nothing in it.
49 mins: Itoje is roaring in delight as England win the put-in when a maul is held up, though that was a debateable call and could have gone in Ireland's favour. Both Larmour and Daly were up in the air and took the ball simultaneously, and Garces decides it's England's ball.
52 mins: It's chaos out there! England try to batter the ball down after a nice run from Tuilagi, but Ringrose smashes Farrell and forces the ball loose. Sexton kicks it up-field and Henshaw is chasing, and Slade knocks it forward when he gets back to field the ball. Ireland regain possession but Sexton is stripped of the ball and the chance goes. Courtney Lawes is on for George Kruis.
54 mins: Ireland take the ball from the scrum and attack, and England are half-a-man down as Itoje is in a lot of bother and can barely walk. It looks to be a knee injury but he's back in the line. Ringrose steps back and tries to beat Sinckler, who catches the centre in the head and gives away the penalty for a high tackle. It comes to nothing and Ireland will have the penalty, while Itoje is being forced off here. That'll need a reshuffle as Kruis has just gone off, so Nathan Hughes will come on and Wilson will have to move to the unfamiliar position of lock.
56 mins: Ooph. Daly knocks the ball forwards and Ireland try to counter, but a long miss-pass to Aki, which is behind him, lets Tuilagi line him up and he absolutely nails his opposite man. Garces says there's no advantage, and that's no surprise! Toner is heading off meanwhile and on comes Quinn Roux.
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