March 1st, 2010 by Jessica Martinez

England lost 16-20 to Ireland at Twickenham in a match they surely needed to win if they were ever to halt the French charge for the title. A scrappy match in terrible conditions was played out, and after taking the lead in the 71st minute with a Jonny Wilkinson drop-goal, England will feel that they perhaps should have gone on to win the game. Instead it was the more creative side Ireland that came out on top, with winger Tommy Bowe bursting through to score two great tries which left the English players grasping at thin air. England played a passing and running game, but lacked cutting edge and the Irish outscored them three tries to one. The key statistic though was that Ireland made an astonishing 99 successful tackles in 80 minutes of rugby, missing just one, and on that kind of form it is no wonder England lost.

This makes the upcoming match between England and France even more crucial than it already was, as the championship opens up. Should England beat France at the Stade de France on they would be back in the race for the RBS Six Nations crown, while France and Ireland would also have had just the one defeat. Could it all go down to point difference on the final day?

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