Many English scribes and pundits arrived at Twickenham on Saturday ready to put another nail in the coffin of English rugby. The same group left the towering stadium inspired and enlivened by the Six Nations and by what Steve Borthwick's England had achieved, halting Ireland's Grand Slam dream.
It must be said the English media reaction to England's victory was full of respect for Ireland's performance yesterday, and indeed for Ireland's long unbeaten in the competition.
The English press were fully cognisant of how bad England had been, and how consistently excellent Ireland had been over the past two years. And that's why they were so happy.
Both on the pitch and in the pressbox, England were the plucky underdog. Ireland were the seasoned champion: not quite at their best but still full of class.
The first word must go to Stephen Jones writing in the Sunday Times. Jones had written his own inspirational speech for Steve Borthwick talking down the greatness of this Irish team.
The match, and possibly the result, was so powerful that it restored his own belief in the power of rugby.
...Just the planet’s primary life diversion. Rugby or sex? On this evidence it is bloody close.
Jones did have praise for the 'outstanding' Ireland team, and Josh van der Flier in particular. He wrote:
Ireland showed formidable mettle and even genius to send in Lowe for his second try, which put them 22-20 ahead.
Ultimately, it was England's day, and the only negative element for the Welshman was the PA announcers.
The only sour note was the disrespectful screeching of two saps over the public-address system. We had heard the music of the great Rag’n’Bone Man during the afternoon and afterwards the singer hugged Marler.
It was not something you see every day. Nor was this blessed match
9 March 2024; Conor Murray of Ireland, centre, after his side's defeat in the Guinness Six Nations Rugby Championship match between England and Ireland at Twickenham Stadium in London, England. Photo by Harry Murphy/Sportsfile
In the same paper, Lawrence Dallaglio called it England's best win since the defeat of the All Blacks in the 2019 World Cup semifinal. He said England 'rattled' Ireland.
Caelan Doris and Tadhg Beirne didn’t get a look-in. They really rattled Ireland right from the very start.
Finally in the Sunday Times. Stuart Barnes assessed the outhalves. He wasn't overly critical of Jack Crowley - he just said he was outshone by his opposite number 10.
He was not doing anything wrong, he was just not in a game England controlled, in terms of possession and territory, deep into the first half.
In the Telegraph, Oliver Brown, who had annoyed a lot of Irish fans with his take on the residency rule, saw the game as a 'passing of the flame' occasion, with drop goal hero Marcus Smith finally claiming his spot as England's chosen outhalf. He had little to say on Ireland bar that Jack Crowley 'botched' the touchline conversion to give Ireland a five point lead in the final eight minutes. He noted that Smith gave his shorts to a supporter after the game, and was hugely critical of George Ford's performance with the kicking tee.
No sooner did Ford miss his third kick with a horrible shank than the cameras zoomed in on Farrell, the man whom he succeeded, watching inscrutably from the stands. Television producers can be cruel sometimes. Mind you, even Mako Vunipola, the 19-stone prop sitting alongside the absent England captain, might have offered a more convincing performance from the tee than this.
Felix Jones's blitz defence seemed to catch Ireland off guard at many stages. Interestingly Austin Healey was critical of the England defence on Twitter on Sunday morning.
Ps we have to stop defending with a constant blitz
— Austin Healey (@IamAustinHealey) March 10, 2024
Six Nations media reaction - Ireland's hurt
Many writers focused on the extent of Ireland's hurt after the result. In his column in the Mail, Clive Woodward reminded readers of his own achievements at winning a Grand Slam, and said the defeat would hurt Ireland to 'no end'.
It must not be downplayed how massive this win is for England. I was at Twickenham watching and it was a great day to be at the home of English rugby.
Winning back-to-back Grand Slams is not easy. Even winning one Grand Slam is far from straightforward, something I know about from my own coaching career.
This will hurt Ireland no end. It will take some coming back from, even if they do go on to win the title.
For Matt Gault writing on the BBC website, the result for Ireland was Stade de France deja vu all over again
Now Ireland must soldier through the pain once more. The big difference between Saturday and October's World Cup quarter-final defeat by New Zealand, of course, is that they still have something to play for.
They were immediately plunged into a gloomy spell of soul-searching after that night at Stade de France, but they have a championship to claim next week.
Luckily for Ireland there is a Six Nations championship to win next Saturday. But one senses the reverberations of this result will be felt by both sides for a long time.
