Steve Borthwick has not been a by-word for inspiration since he took over as England head coach just over a year ago, but his decision to bring on the Harlequins halfback duo was inspired, and their slick final play, with Smith coolly knocking the kick over, sent Ireland away empty-handed.
Irish hopes of a second successive Six Nations Grand Slam were spiked, along with the chance of a record tournament-winning run, as this againstall-odds victory in an epic game of cut-and-thrust rugby union left the Twickenham crowd delirious with joy for the first time in eons.
They had witnessed an England team rediscover its attacking soul in style as they outscored Ireland by three tries - from Ollie Lawrence, George Furbank, and the last from the outstanding Ben Earl to two from Ireland's lethal finisher James Lowe.
A breathless second-half, which began with England trailing 12-8 after Jack Crowley kicked two penalties leading into the interval to give Ireland the lead for the first time, started with England going further behind when Lowe struck three minutes after the break.
A Hugo Keenan highball take was the genesis of Ireland's first coherent backline move of the match, and they took it with typical ruthlessness as the full back set up the ruck.
A rare crack was made in the England defensive line when Crowley delayed his pass cleverly to send Caelan Doris through a gap and with Robbie Henshaw and Jack Frawley combining, Lowe had just enough room to beat the English cover and dive in at the corner.
Crowley missed the touchline conversion, but England gave the Irish no chance to build on their 17-8 lead by returning fire almost immediately.
As they punched the ball into the Irish half they were faced by that rarity, an unscrambled Andy Farrell defence, and an error-free flowing attack saw George Ford, Joe Marler and George Martin link before Maro Itoje found Furbank with a basketball pass.
Diese Geschichte stammt aus der March 10, 2024-Ausgabe von The Rugby Paper.
Starten Sie Ihre 7-tägige kostenlose Testversion von Magzter GOLD, um auf Tausende kuratierte Premium-Storys sowie über 8.000 Zeitschriften und Zeitungen zuzugreifen.
Bereits Abonnent ? Anmelden
Diese Geschichte stammt aus der March 10, 2024-Ausgabe von The Rugby Paper.
Starten Sie Ihre 7-tägige kostenlose Testversion von Magzter GOLD, um auf Tausende kuratierte Premium-Storys sowie über 8.000 Zeitschriften und Zeitungen zuzugreifen.
Bereits Abonnent? Anmelden
Ten-try Chiefs show Pirates no mercy
TEN-TRY Exeter inflicted the backlash from six successive defeats in their worst ever start to a Premiership season on a young Pirates side suffering their own problems in the Championship.
South America look to keep on building
AS Sebastián Piñeyrúa's historic six-year term as President of Rugby Sudamérica comes to an end, his replacement shows no signs of slowing down.
Scarratt excited by new pathway
ENGLAND centurion Emily Scarratt is delighted with the new women's BUCS programme which aims to provide a smoother pathway for young aspiring female players.
Baxter: I want to make things better
ROB Baxter will not be walking away from Exeter, the only club still looking for a Premiership victory this season, believing he can get the Chiefs back on track and he cannot bear the thought of anyone else doing the job.
Pearce walks in his father's footsteps
PADDY Pearce is living a dream after emulating his father and great-uncle by playing for the club he supported as a boy, Bristol.
New England group will cause uncertainty
SO JUST when we thought that everything was getting sorted between the RFU, the clubs and players, a number of new agreements and a new group raises its head.
Galthie turns his sights to the future
FRANCE head coach Fabien Galthie offered the clearest hint yet of Les Bleus' future on Wednesday, when he released 19 players back F to their clubs for the ninth and final Top 14 round before the international break.
Gilmore has tightened up our defence - Anderson
CAMERON Anderson has hailed the impact made by defence coach Jason Gilmore, below, since he arrived at The Stoop in the summer.
Ampthill given 11-try lesson in class from Bath
BATH secured a thumping away success in the opening match of their Premiership Rugby Cup campaign against Ampthill at Dillingham Park.
New faces take the plaudits for Saints
NORTHAMPTON handed out a thorough lesson to a tame Leicester team in this one-sided East Midlands derby to launch the Premiership Cup.