Rugby Union - Six Nations Championship - Ireland v England - Aviva Stadium, Dublin, Ireland - February 1, 2025 Ireland's Dan Sheehan scores their fourth try REUTERS/Clodagh Kilcoyne
DUBLIN (Reuters) -Ireland had to come from behind against England to get their bid for a third successive Six Nations title off to a winning 27-22 bonus point start on Saturday thanks to a ferocious second half after the visitors had made life very uncomfortable for a time.
England got their gameplan spot on in the first half to lead 10-5 at the break, striking early through a debut Cadan Murley try before frustrating a stop-start Ireland and eyeing a repeat of a year ago when they wrecked Ireland's grand slam dreams.
But the hosts were their relentless best after that with the game swung decisively early in the second half after a powerful Bundee Aki try before Tadhg Beirne delivered a knockout blow 15 minutes from time and Dan Sheehan scored a fourth bonus point-clinching try.
While Tom Curry halted the second-half onslaught and Tommy Freeman's try at the death gave England a losing bonus point, it was ultimately a seventh narrow loss in nine games for the visitors since defeating the Irish last year.
The schedule potentially opens up now for Ireland who will fancy making winning trips to Scotland and Wales before coming home for a mouth-watering potential title decider against France on March 8.
"The first half felt like the first round of a Six Nations, there's so much at stake. We felt probably we didn't at times make the most of those opportunities that we had," interim Ireland boss Simon Easterby said after his first game in charge.
"The second half I thought we kicked on and we were probably a bit smarter in the way we played."
England bossed the opening period and took a deserved lead on nine minutes when Harlequins winger Murley collected a beautifully deft kick through from scrumhalf Alex Mitchell and Marcus Smith added the conversion.
The speed of England's defensive line was having the desired impact and Steve Borthwick's men were also edging the aerial battle before one glaring infringement too many after Ireland began to make inroads sent Smith to the sin bin.
But a sloppy Ireland failed to take immediate advantage, stacking up missed opportunity after missed opportunity as Borthwick's decision to start three opensides in the backrow - including Curry and his twin Ben starting together for the first time - appeared to be paying early dividends.
However, the pressure eventually told as Smith returned with Irish winger James Lowe making the initial break from a tired defender on the halfway line before scrumhalf Gibson-Park sold Freddie Steward a dummy to go over.
A Smith penalty doubled England's lead at the break but their defence needed to dig deep again almost as soon as the second half began and they were firmly pinned back when Aki drove past three English defenders to score in the corner.
Ireland's 21-year-old flyhalf Sam Prendergast, starting his first Six Nations game, made up for two missed conversions by nailing a long penalty to put the hosts in front for the first time in the 56th minute.
Ireland did not put the foot down straight away - continuing with some of the errors that marked an uneven November series - but once Beirne broke through to make it 20-10, there was no way back for a punchdrunk and overwhelmed England.
It was only a matter of time before the fourth try arrived and seemed almost as inevitable that it would fall to free-scoring hooker Sheehan, who made an instant impact off the bench upon his return from an ACL injury.
Borthwick highlighted the impact of the Irish replacements that he noted had nearly as many caps as England's matchday squad but praised his side's improved defensive display and attacking intent ahead of next week's home game against France.
"You see an England team that wants to play aggressive with the ball, wants to move the ball and I think we took step forward in that," Borthwick told a press conference.
"Ultimately we came up short... (But) I think there's elements we'll take and build that show the progress in this team."
(Reporting by Padraic Halpin; Editing by Ken Ferris and Christian Radnedge)
