Ireland vs England LIVE rugby: Result and reaction from World Cup warm-up after Billy Vunipola red card
Ireland 29-10 England: England endured more red card drama as Billy Vunipola was sent off in a disheartening loss in Dublin
Billy Vunipola was sent off as England’s stuttering Rugby World Cup preparations were thrown into further disarray by a costly 29-10 defeat to Ireland amid Owen Farrell’s ongoing disciplinary saga.
The No 8 is likely to miss the start of the tournament in France after his 53rd-minute yellow card for making contact with the head of Andrew Porter was upgraded to red.
Steve Borthwick’s men were comfortably dispatched in a disjointed Dublin affair, which influential captain Farrell sat out following the fallout of his dismissal against Wales last weekend. Vunipola’s premature departure compounded a meek display and he will now join Saracens team-mate Farrell in facing a disciplinary panel with England’s World Cup opener against Argentina on September 9 fast approaching.
Keith Earls marked his 100th cap by claiming the fifth of Ireland’s tries, adding to scores from Bundee Aki, Garry Ringrose, James Lowe and Mack Hansen, as the hosts retained their place at the top of the world rankings courtesy of a 12th successive win.
Relive all the action from Ireland vs England below.
Ireland 12-3 England, 48 minutes
It’s not quite working for Ireland today, though, a few gremlins in the machine. England opt not to contest which makes Rob Herring’s slanted toss to Cian Prendergast entirely unneccessary. Not straight, England’s scrum.
And when the Ireland front row withdraw before engagement, Paul Williams pings them.
Ireland 12-3 England, 47 minutes
Penalty Ireland! The ball is at the base and Ben Youngs and Billy Vunipola are instructed to use it, England failing to heed Paul Williams’s call and perhaps harshly penalised with Tadhg Furlong seemingly on his knees.
Back to the corner.
Ireland 12-3 England, 46 minutes
No lineout error this time for Ireland, but the maul never gets moving. Turnover, England’s scrum.
Ireland 12-3 England, 44 minutes
Not a great few minutes for Ben Youngs. The retreating scrum half tries to claim a ball as it plummets back down to earth but spills backwards, placing his mates Ford and Freddie Steward in a predicament. England are penalised at the ruck.
Ireland return to England’s 22. Kyle Sinckler replaces Will Stuart at tighthead prop for the visitors.
Ireland 12-3 England, 43 minutes
Bundee Aki then ploughs over the top of George Ford to grant Ireland clearing space.
A bit more punting ends with Ford claiming a mark.
Ireland 12-3 England, 42 minutes
Ireland almost get themselves in difficulty as James Lowe takes a tonking inside his own 22, but they are good enough to extricate themselves, Cian Prendergast punting up towards halfway.
England run it back with interest and begin to show off their patterns, but a ropey pass from Ben Youngs dips on George Ford and the fly half knocks on having been forced to stoop.
Second half...
No half time changes that I can see, though the early removal of Dan Sheehan will worry the home fans. Hopefully it is just a niggle for the dynamic hooker.
HT: Ireland 12-3 England
England have work to do, obviously. They showed a few more attacking variations from launch plays early on but haven’t managed to provide consistent threat, and their kicking game has just been a little bit off, which given Ireland’s lineout issues will disappoint Steve Borthwick. If they are going to play a kick pressure game over the next couple of months, as all signs would seem to suggest, the accuracy of their chase and selection of their kicks will have to improve.
Still, nine points isn’t an insurmountable half-time lead, and there will be 15 England players re-emerging from the dressing rooms after the interval, which hasn’t been true in the last two meetings between these two.
That said...
HT: Ireland 12-3 England
It was a little bit clunky for Ireland at times, but plenty in their side today are playing their first warm-up game. That said, they are creating width so superbly - Mack Hansen and James Lowe have both been causing typical mischief in the roaming roles they are afforded in this Irish system, and their forwards ball-handling is creating issues at the line, too.
HT: Ireland 12-3 England
Pretty much as expected in Dublin, with Ireland’s repeated mishaps in advanced positions not mattering much in a half which the men in green largely had the better of. Two wonderfully-taken tries showed the range of the home side’s attacking game, and England haven’t controlled territory in the way they’d have liked given how kick happy Steve Borthwick’s side have (again) been.
The visitors’ defensive intensity hasn’t been bad, but there were a few flagging forwards later in the phase count as the half wore on.
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