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 0-0 England, 2 minutes
Space appears wide on the right for England, but Joe Marchant can’t gather the pass cleanly, Ireland’s edge defender closing the corner in the nick of time. A spilled kick will grant England another possession inside opposition territory.
Ireland 0-0 England, 1 minute
Ben Youngs boxes long into the Ireland half, from where the hosts will launch their first attack. Garry Ringrose bounces out of a tackle but makes limited progress, and England attack the breakdown with excellent accuracy and timing to force a turnover.
Ireland vs England
James Ryan gathers his squad in a huddle, some final instructions from the captain before Ross Byrne takes the ball and kicks off. Off we go!
Anthems
Well well well - Mack Hansen has removed his little nod to his back three colleague, the initials of Keith Earls shaved out of the wing’s head. Still, fun while it lasted, and the top of his bonce is still a garish green.
Three pleasant anthem renditions, Earls keeping the emotion in with a bite of his lip.
Match Officials
Referee: Paul Williams (NZL)
ARs: Craig Evans (WAL) & Adam Jones (WAL)
TMO: Ben Whitehouse (WAL)
Ireland vs England
But granted the first wander out onto the Aviva Stadium surface is Keith Earls on cap number 100, taking the hands of his three daughters as the crowd rise to their feet for the warmest of ovations.
Out come the rest of them, ready to go.
Ireland vs England
The England players step out into the tunnel, Jamie George and Maro Itoje engaging their captain in conversation, Courtney Lawes ready to lead the visitors out.
Pre-match thoughts from the two coaches
“I think Owen Farrell is one of the strongest, most resilient people I’ve ever met,” Steve Borthwick tells Amazon Prime. “Some of the things that have been said or written in the past week have moved on to comments about his character, and I just think that’s plain wrong.
“I think that 9, 10, 12 have played together many times at club level and know each other really well. It’s great to see Manu on the pitch. We want the superstars of the game on the pitch and with the tournament around the corner. There’s plenty of superstars out there today.”
And Andy Farrell adds of the situation involving his son: “What’s done is done. We move on. We look forward to a fantastic afternoon of rugby.
Meanwhile, Farrell comments that “it’s a privilege to be involved” in Keith Earls’s 100th cap. “It’s such a milestone within a player’s career,” the Ireland head coach continues. “Earlsy is a special player within our group, he’s so respected. It’s a big day for us to make sure it is a big day for Earlsy’s family.”
Ireland vs England
This is Ireland’s final home fixture before the World Cup, those in green no doubt confident of continuing an unbeaten year in front of what is expected to be a close to capacity crowd. It was at this stage four years ago that England ran all over Ireland at Twickenham in a 57-15 win that gave Eddie Jones’s side the perfect springboard into the World Cup. The Irish starting side today has already proved all it needed to this year to go to the tournament as right among the favourites - but they won’t want a slip-up at this stage that just puts doubt in the mind.
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