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.
This story is from the March 10, 2024 edition of The Rugby Paper.
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This story is from the March 10, 2024 edition of The Rugby Paper.
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