FOR 50 MINUTES England led in Dublin. The visitors started well without taking full advantage, before fading in the second half as Ireland finished on top to win 27-22.
Much of that was down a massive effort off the Ireland bench, with Dan Sheehan, Jack Conan and Jack Crowley in particular adding momentum to Ireland’s second-half surge.
It all meant England manager Steve Borthwick was left picking through the bones of an eighth defeat in 13 games. Borthwick saw the strength of the Ireland bench as a point of difference between the teams, highlighting Crowley’s introduction as a key part in his team’s downfall.
“I think it was certainly a factor. The change at ‘10’ was pretty significant,” Borthwick said.
“I thought he (Crowley) played really well when he came on there in that final part of the game.
Advertisement
“They have got quality in their team. I was looking at the teams beforehand and on their bench I think they had almost as many caps as we had in our whole 23.
England head coach Steve Borthwick. Dan Sheridan / INPHO
Dan Sheridan / INPHO / INPHO
“I was looking at it going, this is going to be a test for us and ultimately we came up short, and I am really disappointed we came up short because I thought we could come here and win the game.
“I think our players gave that a go, you certainly saw a belief that they could come here and win the game, and we didn’t, so we will ensure that we are a better team next week against France back at Twickenham, back at Allianz Stadium.”
Not for the first time over the last 12 months, England came out of a tight battle on the wrong side of the result. Borthwick took pride in how his team started in Dublin and how they hung in swoop for two late tries.
Ultimately, the England boss felt Ireland’s greater experience was telling.
“If you look at today’s game, which I think is the important thing as we are sat here, you see two different teams,” he said.
“You see an Ireland team that has been together for such a huge amount of time, (they have) nearly 1,200 caps. And you see an England team that has been building over the last six months, and we have just over half that number of caps.
“If you watched the start of the game, you’d be saying you don’t see that difference, you see an England team that wants to play aggressive with the ball, wants to move the ball, and I think we took a step forward in that attack.
“I think the defence improved but we want to win every game and we didn’t today, and we are disappointed by that. I think there are elements we will take and build that will show the progress of this team over the last 10 days in the training camp.
“You see how long Ireland have been in the top four rankings in the world, so long, and that experience told in the third quarter, where I thought tactically they played really well.
“That allowed them to get the scoreboard pressure that we couldn’t claw back.”
To embed this post, copy the code below on your site
Close
141 Comments
This is YOUR comments community. Stay civil, stay constructive, stay on topic.
Please familiarise yourself with our comments policy
here
before taking part.
Borthwick: 'The change at 10 was pretty significant'
FOR 50 MINUTES England led in Dublin. The visitors started well without taking full advantage, before fading in the second half as Ireland finished on top to win 27-22.
Much of that was down a massive effort off the Ireland bench, with Dan Sheehan, Jack Conan and Jack Crowley in particular adding momentum to Ireland’s second-half surge.
It all meant England manager Steve Borthwick was left picking through the bones of an eighth defeat in 13 games. Borthwick saw the strength of the Ireland bench as a point of difference between the teams, highlighting Crowley’s introduction as a key part in his team’s downfall.
“I think it was certainly a factor. The change at ‘10’ was pretty significant,” Borthwick said.
“I thought he (Crowley) played really well when he came on there in that final part of the game.
“They have got quality in their team. I was looking at the teams beforehand and on their bench I think they had almost as many caps as we had in our whole 23.
“I was looking at it going, this is going to be a test for us and ultimately we came up short, and I am really disappointed we came up short because I thought we could come here and win the game.
“I think our players gave that a go, you certainly saw a belief that they could come here and win the game, and we didn’t, so we will ensure that we are a better team next week against France back at Twickenham, back at Allianz Stadium.”
Not for the first time over the last 12 months, England came out of a tight battle on the wrong side of the result. Borthwick took pride in how his team started in Dublin and how they hung in swoop for two late tries.
Ultimately, the England boss felt Ireland’s greater experience was telling.
“If you look at today’s game, which I think is the important thing as we are sat here, you see two different teams,” he said.
“You see an Ireland team that has been together for such a huge amount of time, (they have) nearly 1,200 caps. And you see an England team that has been building over the last six months, and we have just over half that number of caps.
“If you watched the start of the game, you’d be saying you don’t see that difference, you see an England team that wants to play aggressive with the ball, wants to move the ball, and I think we took a step forward in that attack.
“I think the defence improved but we want to win every game and we didn’t today, and we are disappointed by that. I think there are elements we will take and build that will show the progress of this team over the last 10 days in the training camp.
“You see how long Ireland have been in the top four rankings in the world, so long, and that experience told in the third quarter, where I thought tactically they played really well.
“That allowed them to get the scoreboard pressure that we couldn’t claw back.”
To embed this post, copy the code below on your site
Ireland jack crowley Reaction six nations 2025 steve borthwick England