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Ireland emerged from an intense and enthralling battle with England with their Six Nations Grand Slam hopes intact on Sunday as they claimed a brilliant 19-9 victory at the Aviva Stadium in Dublin.
Jonathan Sexton was almost faultless with the boot as he missed just one of his four penalty attempts at goal, and when his chip over the English defence allowed inside centre Robbie Henshaw to jump above Alex Goode and touch down for the game’s only try, he stepped up to land the conversion and put Ireland out of reach.
So how did the players get on? Cluck on the gallery below to see our player ratings
Show all 32 1 /32Ireland vs England player ratings Ireland vs England player ratings Ireland: 15. Rob Kearney- 7 Coped with everything that came his way and threatened on occasion.
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Ireland vs England player ratings 14. Tommy Bowe - 6 Posed Nowell problems in the air but starved of clean ball in space.
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Ireland vs England player ratings 13. Jared Payne - 7 Defensive work was of the highest calibre and didn’t put a foot wrong until injury forced him off.
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Ireland vs England player ratings 12. Robbie Henshaw - 9 Strong running caused England huge problems and leaped above Goode for try that won the game.
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Ireland vs England player ratings 11. Simon Zebo - 7 Excelled under the high ball as England continuously tested him and defended strongly.
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Ireland vs England player ratings 10. Jonathan Sexton - 9 Tackled ferociously and his genius kept Ireland on the attack before exit gave England a reprieve.
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Ireland vs England player ratings 9. Conor Murray - 8 Provided quick and clean ball behind dominant Irish pack and box-kicked for Henshaw’s try.
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Ireland vs England player ratings 1. Jack McGrath - 7 Kept Dan Cole quiet which is enough in itself, carried well and added force to the maul.
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Ireland vs England player ratings 2. Rory Best - 8 Unfaultable at the lineout, always had his hands on the ball in the maul and stood out in the pack.
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Ireland vs England player ratings 3. Mike Ross - 8 Scrummaging was miles better than in the past and he won the battle with Marler.
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Ireland vs England player ratings 4. Devin Toner - 9 Disrupted English lineout when Ireland were under pressure and outshone second-row partner O’Connell in the lineout.
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Ireland vs England player ratings 5. Paul O'Connell - 7 Battled to the very end with a late charge down and continues to defy his age of 35.
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Ireland vs England player ratings 6. Peter O'Mahony - 7 Carried well and was on the receiving end of some big runs, but stopped nearly everyone.
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Ireland vs England player ratings 7. Sean O'Brien - 5 His first rampaging run at Ford led to the injury that forced him off in a rather dazed fashion.
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Ireland vs England player ratings 8. Jordi Murphy - 8 In to replace Heaslip and paid back the favour with a brilliant display on the floor to win numerous penalties.
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Ireland vs England player ratings Best off the bench: Tommy O'Donnell - 6 On for the injured O’Brien after 25 minutes and added running power where needed.
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Ireland vs England player ratings England: 15. Alex Goode - 8 His kicking got better as the game went on and his dancing out of the deadball zone was sublime, but beaten in the air for the try.
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Ireland vs England player ratings 14. Anthony Watson - 6 One second-half break threatened to open the game but panicked with a pass to thin air.
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Ireland vs England player ratings 13. Jonathan Joseph - 6 Given little chance to show his agile best and replaced when England’s chances were dying.
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Ireland vs England player ratings 12. Luther Burrell - 5 Didn’t put in his best shift and will be under pressure for selection against Scotland.
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Ireland vs England player ratings 11. Jack Nowell - 6 Picked in favour of Jonny May, and showed why with impressive pace, but targeted in the air.
Ireland vs England player ratings 10. George Ford - 6 Missed penalty would have levelled it up early and two errant passes, but continues to learn at this level.
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Ireland vs England player ratings 9. Ben Youngs - 6 Caught at the base on occasion but passing was good enough before being withdrawn.
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Ireland vs England player ratings 1. Joe Marler - 5 Couldn’t find an edge on Ross which was a surprise and suffered as a result.
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Ireland vs England player ratings 2. Dylan Hartley - 6 Lost two lineouts and was absent in the loose, though his defence was commendable.
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Ireland vs England player ratings 3. Dan Cole - 7 Came to life late on with a barnstorming run over Healy and tried his best to snaffle a turnover or two.
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Ireland vs England player ratings 4. Dave Attwood - 5 Ill-disciplined throughout and was probably the most disappointing in white.
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Ireland vs England player ratings 5. George Kruis - 7 Disrupted the Irish maul very well and the fact he stayed on for the 80 shows how far he’s come.
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Ireland vs England player ratings 6. James Haskell - 6 Gave away an early penalty, and given no quarter at the ruck where he was caught isolated repeatedly.
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Ireland vs England player ratings 7. Chris Robshaw - 6 Tackling was as determined as ever but sloppy with ball in hand.
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Ireland vs England player ratings 8. Billy Vunipola - 7 Another who improved as England grew into the game, but ran out of options after an impressive 40m break.
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Ireland vs England player ratings Best of the bench: Richard Wigglesworth - 6 Injected some pace into England’s attack with two good breaks.
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England surged late on, but ultimately their only points came from the boot of fly-half George Ford, and they were battled into submission by the intensity of the Irish that meant even a late disallowed Jack Nowell try wouldn’t have affected the result or the Six Nations table.
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