Dublin's curse strikes again!

England versus New Zealand; the two top-ranked sides in world rugby going head to head, it's a battle that everyone wants to see, with the winner claiming the bragging rights as the world's best team! That was the chat from the RFU in the build up to the hotly anticipated England v Ireland clash last weekend, and rightly so? England were on the brink of setting a new world record of unbeaten games and winning consecutive grand slams, with master Eddie at the helm. The mighty All Blacks set the bench-mark for international rugby, they set the standard that every nation strives to achieve. It all made sense; the number one team should play number two, to see who comes out on top. The suited and booted executives at the RFU were already calculating the handsome profits they could create from this proposed 'Clash of the Titans' at Twickenham.  Except that they were looking too far ahead - England hadn't yet broken the world record or secured those back to back grand slams. 

Call it 'English arrogance', call it what you will, but was this a little disrespectful to the Irish team that awaited them in Dublin - it was as if the game was already won and England had 'bigger fish to fry'. Standing in their way were an Irish team hell-bent on bringing the English stampede to a halt, and so it proved.  England have thrown away slams in the Irish capital in both 2001 and 2011; Irish turf isn't a happy hunting ground, and Rory Best's men were keen to complete their hat trick. From the first whistle they threw themselves at England with a ferocious defensive line speed, which starved the visitors of opportunities to get things going and provide any front foot ball. The likes of Ford, Joseph and Farrell weren't able to execute the free flowing back-moves that came so easily the previous week against Scotland. 

As usual these days, Sexton took an absolute battering throughout the game - but no other fly half (save perhaps George Ford) takes the ball so flat to the line, challenging defences and forcing defenders to make split-second decisions. This flat-line running created space out wide for Simon Zebo, Jared Payne and Keith Earls, which almost led to Ireland's first try. Instead their opening score came from their superbly functioning lineout, as Iain Henderson crashed his way over from the resulting drive.  Compare this with the English lineout, which ran far from smoothly;  in wet and damp conditions your set piece has to be spot on, and England were anything-but in this area. Peter O'Mahony, a late replacement for Jamie Heaslip, competed for everything and made a mess of coach Steve Borthwick's usually flawless lineout calls. 

O'Mahony had a storming game for Ireland

England were lucky to go into the break only 7 points down, having been completely dominated in both territory and possession. In the early exchanges of the second period, they started to get a foot-hold in the game with a couple of strong driving mauls of their own. However, in open play the Irish defence continued to suffocate them. The usual strong carrying of Billy Vunipola and James Haskell was countered by the infamous Irish choke tackle, and the game started to slip out of England's reach. 'The Fields of Athenry' reverberated around the Aviva Stadium as the Irish crowd increased their volume, creating a hostile environment for the men in white. But these sorts of environments create a pressure and an atmosphere that world class sides thrive upon don't they? Moments like this are when 'good sides' become the 'great sides' that Eddie Jones has so often spoken about.

One crucial moment came in the 73rd minute with the score at 13-9, as Farrell pumped the ball deep into the Irish 22. Surely this was the moment where England could have grabbed the 'greatness' tag and hung it proudly around their necks! But it wasn't to be, perhaps the pressure was too much? Jamie George, who up until that point hadn't missed a lineout all tournament, had his throw picked off by O'Mahony and the opportunity was lost. It was reminiscent of almost identical circumstances in the third and deciding test of the 2001 Lions tour; when Justin Harrison stole the ball from Martin Johnson at a crucial lineout deep in Australian territory, with the match and series in the balance. Test matches are won on fine margins, and England's best chance to turn the game was stolen in the blink of an eye by the inspirational Munster man.

Yet again, England lifted the Six Nations trophy in Dublin as a losing side. But winning streaks have to come to an end at some point, and Eddie Jones will be glad it's happened now as some of the pressure and expectation has been lifted. You certainly couldn't deny that it was coming, as England only just did enough to get across the line against France and Wales. Teams learn more about themselves in defeat than they do in victory, and England have come some way since crashing out of the group stages of the world cup in 2015.  It's important to keep things in perspective; consecutive Six Nations championships and equaling New Zealand's unbeaten run is not a bad return. No wonder Billy Vunipola and his boys enjoyed a few well-earned beers on Saturday night!

Billy Vunipola - A few too many sherberts!

The core of this talented England side are likely to feature heavily in this summer's Lions tour, where they will finally have the chance to test themselves in the famous red jersey against the seemingly untouchable All Blacks. It will undoubtedly provide more high pressure moments for these players to deal with; maybe they'll draw upon the lessons learnt from another lost slam in Dublin, and have the tools to overcome the biggest rugby challenge of them all?