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Johnny Sexton believes Ireland would not have left Twickenham with a win had Saturday’s epic Test been played two years ago.
The Irish played 78 minutes with a man advantage following Charlie Ewels’ red card but were pushed hard by England’s 14 men and a rocking London crowd.
Pegged back to a draw with 20 minutes to go they gathered themselves to score two late tries and claim a 32-15 win.
“I think two years ago, we would have lost that game,” Sexton said.
“I think at 15-15, we wouldn’t have had the composure to regroup but the mental skills and sort of development that we’ve done over the last couple of years really stood to us.
“In the week, we prepared for things like this, so that’s the positive out of it.”
Ewels’ second-minute red card for a high hit on James Ryan was followed quickly by James Lowe’s try as Ireland looked set for an utterly dominant display.
However England, led by a pack that dominated their Irish counterparts at the scrum, methodically wrestled back the momentum and presented Marcus Smith with the chance to kick them to parity midway through the second half.
Ireland were swimming desperately against the tide as hopes of a famous home victory grew inside Twickenham, only for the visitors to slam the door shut as replacements Jack Conan and Finlay Bealham went over to secure a bonus point win.
“What you learn is things when distract you like a team going down to 14 men you need to just focus on doing the basics really well,” Sexton reflected.
“At times we just forced a couple of things. Those things were on so it’s probably execution more than decision making, and then other times we didn’t play. We didn’t shift it to the edge when it was on so there’s lots we can take out of it.
“We’ll just build towards next week now, we’ve a chance to win a Triple Crown at home in the Aviva Stadium.”
Ireland to assess scrum concerns
While Ireland return home delighted to have survived a sizeable test of character, the manner with which their scrum was manhandled will be of huge concern.
Despite the absence of Andrew Porter and Ronan Kelleher, a front three of Tadhg Furlong, Dan Sheehan and Cian Healy were expected to at least match the English front row – but found themselves second best throughout, coughing up a staggering six scrum penalties.
In the first half, Furlong complained to referee Mathieu Raynal that England were not allowing the scrums a moment to settle after the initial hit. However, the official responded that he could see no illegality in their technique.
“As far as the scrum is concerned, you could see the lads asking a lot of questions,” head coach Andy Farrell said.
“It is what it is. We go through the right channels and make sure we realise whether it’s our fault or not, and if it’s not we’ll obviously adjust and we’ll see what happens.
“This is what happens in Test match rugby isn’t it? You’re under pressure in all sorts of different areas. At times there set-piece wise they put us under the cosh.”
Ireland return home with the chance to secure the Triple Crown with a win over Scotland, knowing that would also put them in contention to win the title, with France hosting England later on Saturday in the final match of the 2022 tournament.
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