Amid the scars left via a lifestyles in the second one row, Steve Borthwick has a excellent poker face.
He does not have many tells, preserving his feelings beneath tight rein and his ideas to himself.
However Tuesday was once no bluff.
By way of naming his group two days early, Borthwick put his playing cards at the desk and challenged Eire to end up him improper.
England caught with Marcus Smith at fly-half and Freddie Steward at full-back, picked debutant Cadan Murley at the wing and guess the home on a again row of Ben Earl, Tom Curry and his dual brother Ben.
The choice was once a observation of intent; to win the air, to sap Eire’s pace with a nuisance flooring sport and throw a defensive blanket over their assault.
For 40 mins, Borthwick’s plan paid out.
England scored the hole check out early as Smith ran again a kick, Ollie Lawrence busted a hollow and Henry Slade’s lovable grubber put the ball on a platter for Murley.
Earl and the Twindaloo – Sale fanatics’ nickname for the Curry brothers – had been inflicting Eire’s assault indigestion.
They steamed into the breakdown, slowing the ball as possible attackers had been drawn in to safe the provision traces.
The defence was once up flat and speedy, scattering Eire’s attacking patterns. And via shortening the line-out – a possible house of weak point – they thinned out Eire’s thicket of jumpers.
New skipper Maro Itoje confirmed his captaincy smarts, ensuring that Ben O’Keeffe noticed and heard the sly dangle that Tadhg Beirne had of his leg, leaving the referee no possibility however to chalk off an Eire check out.
It was once promising.
Having trailed on the wreck in each and every Six International locations fit remaining yr, England reached 40 mins 5 forward.
It would were even higher.
They had been hobbled via Smith’s sin-binning for 10 mins.
After some brave defence it was once best at the remaining passage of that power-play that Eire controlled to attain, as James Lowe shrugged off Alex Mitchell like a rainy cagoule to position in Jamison Gibson Park.
The Aviva jangled with nerves on the period.
Recollections of 2019, when an unfancied England facet plotted the easiest opening-day heist to derail Eire, abruptly gave the impression extra vibrant.
By way of full-time although they, like England, had disintegrated.
