England beaten by Ireland in first round of 2025 Guinness Six Nations
England were beaten 27-22 by Ireland in the opening round of the 2025 Guinness Six Nations in Dublin.
Despite seven points from the boot of Marcus Smith and tries from Cadan Murley, Tom Curry and Tommy Freeman, the reigning champions showed their class, scoring 22 second half points at the Aviva Stadium.
England started the Test quickly, as Smith threatened the Irish defence with smart kicks and line breaks.
The pressure built, and eventually took its toll inside 10 minutes, as Murley scored his first Test try. It came from an Ollie Lawrence line break which led to quick ball being recycled. As Smith found Henry Slade, the Exeter Chief then stabbed a neat grubber from the Irish 22-metre line toward their try line, and the Harlequin - on debut - won the footrace. Smith’s extras made it 0-7.
Both sides had scores disallowed before the clock hit 20 minutes, and England’s fly-half was shown a yellow card as half hour approached - the first for an England player in seven matches. It put a burden on England in defence, but their blitz caused Irish errors, with the likes of Tom Curry showcasing fantastic breakdown skill to force turnovers.
The extra player advantage finally favoured Ireland on 35 minutes though, as James Lowe broke the tackle of Alex Mitchell, and found Jamison Gibson-Park, who stepped Freddie Steward and crossed the line. Prendergast’s missed conversion still saw England with a two-point buffer.
In the final moments of the half a brilliant Ben Earl break saw England probe deep into their opponent’s territory, and a few phases later they won a penalty, which Smith - now back on the pitch - duly sent through the uprights for a 5-10 lead at the break.
The half time stats showed a competitive Test - with the same amount of clean breaks recorded (5), and defenders beaten (17). England Rugby’s Match Centre highlighted Freddie Steward as a standout performer - making 52 metres and beating one defender with his six carries.
Ireland hit back
The resumption saw Ireland spring into action, and it wasn't long before they were back on level terms. Bundee Aki showing brute force to power over for Ireland's second try, in the same corner as Murley's first half effort. Prendergast then pressed Ireland ahead on 55 minutes with a well taken penalty, as Simon Easterby's men grew into the Test.
Lowe was the catalyst behind Ireland's third try, as the wing exposed a hole on the flank of England's ruck - squeezing through untouched before firing a pass to the supporting Tadhg Beirne who went over. Replacement Jack Crowley's conversion made it 20-10.
Replacement Dan Sheehan bagged Ireland's bonus-point try with eight minutes left in the Test - Crowley successful with the boot again to open a 17-point lead.
Tom Curry's 77th minute score looked to be a consolation, until Freeman crossed in the final play of the game to give Steve Borthwick's men a losing bonus-point, with the match ending 27-22.
Replacements
