Ireland’s superior cutting edge combined with a superb defensive effort gave them a 20-16 victory over England at Twickenham on Saturday and maintained their outside chance of retaining the Six Nations championship.
Two tries for Tommy Bowe and another for fellow winger Keith Earls against a pushover effort by Dan Cole made the difference on the scoreboard, but the more telling statistic was probably Ireland’s tackle count — they made 99 and missed only one.
England briefly led 16-13 after a Jonny Wilkinson drop-goal nine minutes from time, but Bowe’s second try proved decisive and secured Ireland’s sixth win in seven games against England.
PHOTO: AFP
France, with three wins out of three, remain favorites for the title, but the Irish, who lost in Paris, are still in with a chance with home games against Wales and Scotland to come.
England, who had beaten Italy and Wales, dominated possession and looked more creative than in both those games, but again struggled to make the final step.
Ireland were ahead after six minutes when they reacted quickly to a turnover and a neat chip by Jonathan Sexton, preferred to regular flyhalf Ronan O’Gara, opened the door for Bowe to touch down.
Wilkinson missed his first penalty attempt, but landed two more as England, despite a slippery ball, showed a willingness to run that was painfully absent against Italy.
Sexton missed a penalty from inside his own half, but also landed one as Ireland reached halftime 8-6 ahead and both flyhalves missed tough penalties early in the second half as the teams struggled to shape the game.
It was Ireland, though, who were showing more snap and aggression and while England had the ball for long periods, the Irish defense was solid.
Ireland’s second try came after a controversially reversed penalty after 55 minutes when England scrumhalf Danny Care was punished for shoving Tomas O’Leary.
Ireland kicked for the corner and after another Paul O’Connell lineout win, Sexton spun a pass into the path of Earls to score in the corner for a 13-6 lead.
England hit back to level it at 13-13 after an hour when prop Cole got the benefit of the television match official’s verdict after a try-line pileup.
Wilkinson, who missed three goal-kicks against Italy, then failed with his third of the afternoon when another penalty went wide, but he was on target with a 71st-minute drop-goal to put England ahead for the first time.
The lead lasted only three minutes as Bowe blasted through some poor tackles for his second try, simply created by an O’Connell lineout catch and pass by O’Leary.
England poured forward in the closing stages, but Ireland’s defense, excellent all afternoon, stood strong.
“It’s great when you have backs like we have at the moment, great finishers, confident guys. To score three tries is massive for us,” O’Connell said.
England manager Johnson agreed that Ireland’s superior finishing was key.
“When we got them under pressure, we looked good. I thought the guys played very well, we got ahead and were putting pressure on at the end,” Johnson said. “I thought it was a good performance.”
■ITALY 16, SCOTLAND 12
REUTERS, ROME
Substitute scrumhalf Pablo Canavosio scored the only try of the match to seal a deserved victory for Italy over Scotland on Saturday and boost his side’s chances of avoiding another wooden spoon.
Canavosio went over the line in the 67th minute after a fine break and offload by Gonzalo Canale. Wing Mirco Bergamasco scored the Azzurri’s other points with his boot to give them their first win in the competition for two years.
Scotland, whose points came from flyhalf Dan Parks, twice had the ball over the line in the second half with prop Allan Jacobsen, but the television official ruled it had not been grounded either time.
Defeat leaves Scotland without a win after three games.
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