Ireland v England: Six Nations post match reaction from Dublin with Henry Slade and Conor Murray

England double try scorer Henry Slade and Ireland scrumhalf Conor Murray gave their views after England stunned defending Six Nations Champions Ireland at the Aviva Stadium on Saturday evening.
By Richard Mulligan
Published 2nd Feb 2019, 18:29 BST
Updated 7th Feb 2019, 22:05 BST
Ireland players defected after loss to EnglandIreland players defected after loss to England
Ireland players defected after loss to England

Leading 17-13 in an epic opening-weekend title showdown that lived up to expectations, England engineered the decisive moment in the 66th minute when Henry Slade and Jonny May combined brilliantly from a scrum for Slade to touch down.

Owen Farrell was on target with a penalty to put the game beyond Ireland's reach as the Aviva Stadium was stormed for the first time in the Six Nations since 2013, securing Eddie Jones' 29th win in 36 Tests.

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Joe Schmidt's Grand Slam champions fell apart in the closing stages, enabling Slade to plunder his second try, before replacement John Cooney restored some scoreboard credibility in the final seconds.

Centre Slade was delighted with his side's first win in Ireland during the Six Nations era.

"It's great to come over here and get a win. Obviously they are a top side and it's a great place to come and play and I thought the way we dug in today, we had a lot of defending to do.

"It's credit to the boys. We put in a big shift in the last couple of weeks in camp. We're just really pleased to get the win.

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"We had two weeks gearing up for this game and we knew exactly how we wanted to play. We executed it perfectly and the boys through one to 23 put their bodies on the line and it was really enjoyable to play in."

Henry Slade celebrates his second try for England in the victory over IrelandHenry Slade celebrates his second try for England in the victory over Ireland
Henry Slade celebrates his second try for England in the victory over Ireland

Ireland scrum-half Murray felt his side were below par and paid for their sluggish start.

"We started a bit slow and gave up a couple of soft tries," he said.

"Against a team of England's quality, you're always going to be struggling.

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"If you look at the end of the game we started chasing and gave up another couple of soft scores.

"Our start killed us against a team of England's quality. You can't come out here and start that slow and expect to win.

"We steadied the ship a little bit and got back into it. The half-time chat was good, but for whatever reason, we were a little bit flat coming out again.

"It's not like us and very hard to put your finger on it, but against a side like England you can't afford to be flat."

Related topics:EnglandIrelandSix Nations