England 23-22 Ireland: Marcus Smith’s last-gasp drop-goal hands England thrilling win

Marcus Smith kicked a last-gasp drop-goal as England stunned Ireland and ended their chance to win back-to-back Grand Slams in a Six Nations thriller at Twickenham.

In an action-packed second half, Lowe opened his account with an acrobatic finish in the corner before tries by George Furbank and Ben Earl handed a resurgent England the lead.

Lowe’s second was an equally fine finish and looked set to clinch the title for Ireland, but Smith kept his nerve to inflict a first Six Nations defeat on Ireland since Paris in 2022.

Ollie Lawrence opened the scoring for England in a blistering start but Ireland, chasing history in their pursuit of a first double Grand Slam in the Six Nations, gained a foothold in the game through Jack Crowley’s assured boot.

Victory for England keeps their faint title hopes alive and also means they have ended their run of three successive Six Nations with only two victories from five games.

But Ireland still lead the Six Nations standings and will retain their crown with a win over Scotland in Dublin on the final weekend.

England answer George’s call

Ireland were overwhelming favourites to stretch their winning run over England to five games and assert their dominance over the northern hemisphere with another title, but the hosts and their captain Jamie George had other ideas.

George put out a call to arms, reminding the fans how the players would valiantly “defend our home” against Andy Farrell’s side.

Twickenham responded with an atmosphere not seen for some time and they were quickly rewarded as England spotted an opportunity to attack, throwing the ball through the hands for Lawrence to score the first try.

Ireland were startled, as they were 12 months ago on the cusp of the Slam before Freddie Steward was controversially sent off and the tide turned green.

Crowley’s four penalties overturned the early deficit but England remained disciplined and kept 15 players on the field throughout.

Lowe’s first try did not dampen their attacking intent and more quick ball resulted in Furbank running clear to score his second Test try in as many games before Earl powered over for England’s third.

Ireland were always going to have another say and Lowe’s second try appeared to end England’s resistance, but Danny Care came off the bench to win his 100th cap and England had a second wind.

The charge to the line gathered momentum before Care fed his Harlequins team-mate Smith to end Ireland’s shot at history and seal a famous England win in the Steve Borthwick era.

Ireland undone as they fail to heed warning

England were widely criticised for their lack of attacking ambition in their disappointing defeat by Scotland while Ireland looked supreme with comfortable wins over France, Italy and Wales in their opening three games.

The visitors were overwhelming favourites but no-one within their camp was expecting a forgone conclusion, with head coach Farrell labelling England an “unbelievably dangerous” team.

The visitors showed signs of negating England’s blitz defence in the first half before pouring through at the start of the second for Lowe’s first try with Henry Slade slightly out of position.

It happened again late on with almost the same outcome as Lowe finished off in the corner – but they were two moments of exception as Ireland struggled to retain possession.

England controlled large spells of the game with their aggression in the carry and tenacious defence close to the breakdown. George Martin was a constant menace and his inclusion at lock was vindicated as he charged up at the Ireland line with ferocity.

Ireland are still likely to retain their title on the final weekend when they host Scotland but England will have reminded Scots’ coach Gregor Townsend’s men of the chinks in the green armour.

What they said

England head coach Steve Borthwick told BBC Sport: “The team has been progressing. We are four games into building a new team and I am delighted for the players and especially the supporters.

“When you look at that game, the players showed incredible intensity from the first minute to the 80th minute.

“Against a team of this quality you know you are going to have to problem-solve, and there were small adjustments we could see from the box.

“The blend of the game for periods was an arm wrestle and then it would break open with a counter-attack.”

Ireland head coach Andy Farrell, speaking to ITV: “For large parts of the game I thought we were a little bit off, and that’s down to England, but I felt we had the resilience to keep bouncing back.

“England found a way in the end, they really deserved to win.

“We have been very good at winning. We have to be good at losing. We have to make sure we review that properly and come into work on Monday with a smile on our faces because there is a championship to win.”

Line-ups

England: Furbank; Feyi-Waboso, Slade, Lawrence, Freeman; Ford, Mitchell; Genge, George (capt), Cole, Itoje, Martin, Chessum, Underhill, Earl.

Replacements: Dan, Marler, Stuart, Cunningham-South, Dombrandt, Care, M Smith, Daly.

Ireland: Keenan; Nash, Henshaw, Aki, Lowe; Crowley, Gibson-Park; Porter, Sheehan, Furlong; McCarthy, Beirne, O’Mahony (capt), Van der Flier, Doris.

Replacements: Kelleher, Healy, Bealham, Henderson, Baird, Conan, Murray, Frawley.

Match officials

Referee: Nika Amashukeli (Georgia)

Touch judges: Andrea Piardi (Italy) & Craig Evans (Wales)

TMO: Ben Whitehouse (Wales)