With 10 minutes left to play, English fans filed out of their seats to drown their sorrows in the cold Twickenham concourse.
They would rather queue up at a breezeblock bar than watch any more of this humiliation by an Irish team who were supposed to be on the wane.
This was one of the worst days of the Steve Borthwick tenure. Their systems failed.
England’s 12-match winning run suddenly feels like a distant memory as they crashed to their second defeat of the championship. Their collapse has been remarkable and they are now facing the prospect of a bottom-half finish in this year’s Six Nations.
The tone was set in the very first phase. Joe McCarthy thrust his forearm into Henry Pollock at the bottom of the ruck before James Ryan pinned down the English youngster.
Pollock wriggled, Borthwick squirmed and Ireland ran riot.
England were routed on one of the worst days of Steve Borthwick’s tenure as head coach
Ireland ran riot as England’s systems failed to record their biggest ever victory at the home of English rugby
Borthwick predicted a state of euphoria at Twickenham but this was the polar opposite to that carefree state of extreme happiness. Just ask Luke Cowan-Dickie or Freddie Steward, who were both hooked in the first-half as Ireland charged towards a record points haul.
England’s lineout malfunctioned from the start. No one jumped for Cowan-Dickie’s first throw-in and Tadhg Beirne pinched the first ball. With nine minutes on the clock, at England’s second lineout, Joe McCarthy swam through the maul to win a turnover. Jack Crowley kicked the opening points and the freebies kept coming.
George Ford missed routine kicks to touch, Henry Pollock was tackled behind the gain line and Freddie Steward fumbled the ball.
Last year, England were ahead of the curve with their contestable kicking. They studied clips of NBA stars fighting for rebounds around the hoop and dominated their rivals in battle of the autumn skies.
It was a scientific approach, backed up by big data, but their rivals have caught up and overtaken them. France and Scotland winning back more contestable kicks than England in the early rounds and here Robert Baloucoune beat Henry Arundell in the air.
The warning signs were there following last week’s defeat by Scotland but England did not react.
Despite winning 11 from 12 games in 2025, England ranked second last among tier one countries for points per attacking 22 entry. It is a statistic that is not getting any better. They desperately forced offloads as a 17-phase attack in Ireland’s 22 delivered zero return.
Ireland, in contrast, took 10 points from their first three visits to the 22. Tom Curry entered a ruck from the side to concede a penalty, with Jamison Gibson-Park reacting fastest to score from a tap and go. England’s senior players were as guilty as anyone.
Maro Itoje cut a disappointed figure as England were unable to learn from the warning signs from facing Scotland
Henry Pollock summed up feelings around the Red Roses’ ragged performance on Saturday
RFU patron the Princess of Wales was in attendance to watch her side crumble under pressure
Ireland had the measure of their opponents as England committed error upon error
There was error upon error. Ollie Chessum lost a lineout at the tail before Ollie Lawrence was penalised for a high tackle on Jamie Osborne. Ireland attacked from a contestable kick, Stuart McCloskey handed off Lawrence and Baloucoune extended the lead.
Steward was sin-binned and Cowan-Dickie was hooked, following Alex Mitchell off the pitch. England’s wide channels were exposed. The hosts were run ragged as Ireland made nine clean breaks within just half an hour as Tommy O’Brien extended the lead to a staggering 22 points.
There were cheers of irony when Ford finally landed a kick to touch but England’s set piece continued to malfunction. Jamie George ran a strike play down the blindside but England’s hooker was turned over.
At this point, Borthwick made his moves. Freddie Steward was hooked but Ford remained on the pitch. England’s coach made tweaks but he retained the man who is central to the attack. First-half substitutions are a bold move but Borthwick’s did not work.
Marcus Smith set up Dingwall to score within seconds of his introduction but the play-maker was restricted to secondary touches from full-back.
England’s plan B never kicked into action. Ellis Genge missed a tackle on Caelan Doris and Pollock was sinbinned as England scrambled to cover. Dan Sheehan scored from a tapped penalty but England were staring down the barrel.
Lawrence banked a try but England lost the sin-bin period 3-0 when Osborne was shown a yellow card. Ben Earl fumbled the ball running out of his own as the hosts were turned over time after time.
Ford hesitated and ran into the jaws of Irish defenders, held up and turned over. Crowley kept the scoreboard turning green from the tee and Osborne touched down for his team’s fifth.
Sam Underhill’s try in the 77th minute was a mere consolation as Twickenham tasted defeat for the first time since 2024.
