Well that wasn't great. After two wins to start the Six Nations, Ireland were very much brought back down to earth at Twickenham this afternoon.
The 24-12 scoreline in favour of England does not tell full story of what unfolded over the 80 minutes, and in truth it should have been a much heavier defeat. Eddie Jones will be bitterly disappointed that his side did not run up a bigger score.
While Ireland's defence was decent at times, they were completely toothless in attack. The lack of spark and creativity that plagued the team in 2019 was fully on show.
How can this be addressed over the next two games? This is a long-term issue, one that won't be solved overnight. A change in approach is needed, but so too is a change in personnel.
Speaking on Virgin Media after the game, Shane Horgan said that Ireland will continue to face the same issues in attack unless they make a change the way they play the game. He reckons the first step to doing that is by bringing some fresh faces into the team:
Does Andy Farrell make several changes for Italy?
If so, who comes in?
Shane Horgan goes through a few possible names here.#ENGvIRE #GuinnessSixNations #VMTVRugby pic.twitter.com/1dHspwmWXx— Virgin Media Sport (@VMSportIE) February 23, 2020
Well I think [Caelen] Doris would have been there if not for that injury in the first game. I think he has to go in.
You look at [Ronan] Kelleher as a ball carrier, somebody that is explosive. We've seen elements of what we want to see from him.
I think you've got to see John Cooney as well. Murray had a poor game. I think he's not helped by our strategy.
He's not box-kicking those box-kicks because it has come into his head for the first time on the pitch. That's the plan that has been put into place, he's been told to box-kick in certain circumstances.
In some ways I feel for him, but I think you have to have the change there. That's the starting point. I think [Iain] Henderson has to come back in as a ball carrier.
It will make a difference.
That's four changes, if you include Henderson who was originally meant to play in this game. It's certainly difficult to argue with that assessment.
If anything, Ireland supporters would likely be crying out for even more dramatic adjustments.
