“All the hurdles on the potentially rocky road to Dublin had been cleared with impressive ease.”
England came to Dublin on Saturday afternoon and emerged with a convincing victory over Ireland.
Eddie Jones’ team won 32-20 at the Aviva Stadium, ending Joe Schmidt’s chances of winning back-to-back Grand Slams in his final Six Nations campaign.
As expected, the English rugby media were sent into a spin by the surprise victory. It was Ireland’s first loss in Dublin since 2013 and the first time Schmidt had tasted defeat at home in the Six Nations.
In The Telegraph, Mick Cleary said that Jones’ team overcame the Irish challenge with “impressive ease.”
“Oh we of little faith. Eddie Jones had stoked the fires within his own squad by bemoaning the fact that England had been written-off by all-comers, and those embers burst into life on a revealing night for English rugby and their World Cup prospects. England were bold and resilient, clever of mind and teak-tough of body. These were the History Boys, the ones to thrillingly re-write that Red Rose ledger of gloom that had recorded only one win in Dublin in 15 years…
“The fabled Andy Farrell defence had been well and truly unlocked.
“The floodgates had been prised open, England rounding off in style when Slade intercepted a Sexton pass, juggled but recovered to score.
“No wonder they celebrated on the field and in the stands. England were back in business. All the hurdles on the potentially rocky road to Dublin had been cleared with impressive ease.”
Paul Rees, writing in The Guardian, stated that this was a defining victory for England.
“England may have won a grand slam and a Six Nations title under Eddie Jones as well as a series in Australia, but this was their first performance under him when they looked like a team capable of toppling New Zealand at the top of the world rankings.
“There was an assertiveness and an assurance to their play, starting in the opening seconds when they caught Ireland out with a quickly taken lineout that resulted in a try for Jonny May, in a reversal from the game here two years ago.
“After an opening round when a few images were shattered, nothing will be assumed.”
In The Times, Stephen Jones called it a “Titanic triumph” for England.
“It was the day it all came together, every hope and every plan and every loose end. All the highs and lows and bewilderments and frustrations in the tenure of Eddie Jones as England’s coach were distilled — perhaps mysteriously but quite gloriously — into this emphatic crushing of the reigning Six Nations champions.
“Those coaches who produced this team in such a positive mental state, with everything covered in the mission to shut Ireland clean out, deserve the thanks of a grateful nation. But those on the field deserve thanks almost tending towards a fawning…
“Ireland, naturally, kept on competing but in the end they became shambolic. Perhaps their effort was typified when Johnny Sexton, outpointed at every stage by Farrell, popped the ball away near his own line, in an attempt to get something going, only for Slade to eat the ball whole and to run on to score.
“Granted, it took England until the final quarter to make their killing scores, but when they did there was a sense of justice and of points well earned. It has not been England’s decade, frankly. But was it ever their day.”
Chris Foy of The Mail on Sunday praised England’s “staggering feat.”
“Power and glory. England claimed the most prized Test scalp in the northern hemisphere, if not the world right now, with a stunning demonstration of controlled force and fury.
“The hosts simply could not withstand the onslaught. England blasted their way to arguably the most significant win of Jones’s tenure as head coach. Their pre-eminence in Europe had been lost last year.
“Ireland had claimed the Six Nations title, swept to a Grand Slam and usurped their Red Rose rivals as the primary global challengers to New Zealand. But this result transforms the hierarchy.
“At the start of this regime, there was a Grand Slam to savour, but no single victory eclipsed this one. Winning in Edinburgh or Paris or Rome is not on the same level as coming to Dublin – where even the mighty All Blacks fear to tread these days – and lowering the Irish colours. This was a staggering feat.”
And Alex Spink of The Mirror wrote:
“Eddie Jones’ England shattered Ireland’s aura of invincibility with a performance of pure genius to kick off World Cup year. A year after having to watch the Irish celebrate a Grand Slam at Twickenham, Jones’ white-shirted warriors gained emphatic revenge at the home of the world’s in-form side.
“The marauding visitors put them to the sword with scores for Jonny May, Elliot Daly and two from Henry Slade giving them a bonus point triumph. Each was a work of art, a testament to the work of coaches and players alike during their week-long training camp in Portugal.”
Many of these papers were shouting loudly for Eddie Jones’ head after England’s losing streak in early 2018.
Now they are trumping him up as a World Cup saviour and the perfect man to dethrone the All Blacks
