England beaten by Ireland at Twickenham
14-man England were beaten 32-15 by Ireland at Twickenham, despite a spirited performance.
Charlie Ewels was shown a red card inside the opening two minutes of the Test, as he made a dangerous tackle on James Ryan, and Jonathan Sexton was on hand to convert the resulting penalty.
James Lowe crossed for Ireland's opening try moments later, as Josh van der Flier broke down the left flank and unleashed the winger to make it 8-0.
England's scrum dominance was the catalyst behind their first points of the match, as Marcus Smith reduced the deficit to five points with a straightforward penalty.
The hosts showed glimpses of promise through Joe Marchant and Sam Simmonds as half time approached, the duo combined down the right flank to set up a promising platform, only for stubborn Irish defence to thwart them.
Two Smith penalties either side of a converted Hugo Keenan try made it 9-15 at the break.
England started the second half brightly with a huge defensive effort, repelling wave after wave of Irish attack five metres from their own line, and Smith landed his fourth penalty on 53 minutes, as England's confidence grew.
England's front row continued to torment the Irish pack, as Ellis Genge, Jamie George and Will Stuart earned their side another penalty on the hour mark, converted by Smith to level the match at 15-15.
But Sexton's second successful penalty was followed by tries from replacements Jack Conan and Finlay Bealham, that sealed the deal for the Irish, making it 32-15.
TEAMS
England
1. Ellis Genge, 2. Jamie George, 3. Kyle Sinckler, 4. Maro Itoje, 5. Charlie Ewels, 6. Courtney Lawes (c), 7. Tom Curry, 8. Sam Simmonds, 9. Harry Randall, 10. Marcus Smith, 11. Jack Nowell, 12. Henry Slade, 13. Joe Marchant, 14. Max Malins, 15. Freddie Steward.
Finishers
16. Jamie Blamire, 17. Joe Marler, 18. Will Stuart, 19. Joe Launchbury, 20. Alex Dombrandt, 21. Ben Youngs, 22. George Ford, 23. Elliot Daly.
Ireland
1. Cian Healy, 2. Dan Sheehan, 3. Tadhg Furlong, 4. Tadhg Beirne, 5. James Ryan, 6. Peter O'Mahony, 7. Josh van der Flier, 8. Caelan Doris, 9. Jamison Gibson-Park, 10. Jonathan Sexton, 11. James Lowe, 12. Bundi Aki, 13. Garry Ringrose, 14. Andrew Conway, 15. Hugo Keenan.
Replacements
16. Rob Herring, 17. Dave Kilcoyne, 18. Finlay Bealham, 19. Iain Henderson, 20. Jack Conan, 21. Conor Murray, 22. Joey Carbery, 23. Robbie Henshaw.
