Ireland came from behind to beat England 27-22 in Dublin on Saturday to begin their quest for a third-straight Six Nations title with a bonus-point victory.
England got their gameplan spot on in the first half to lead 10-5 at the break, striking early thanks to a try from debutant Cadan Murley before frustrating a stop-start Ireland at the breakdown with only Jamison Gibson-Park able to break through.
The game swung decisively Ireland's way early in the second half with a powerful Bundee Aki try and Sam Prendergast penalty putting them ahead for the first time after 55 minutes before a Tadhg Beirne try delivered a knockout blow 10 minutes later.
A relentless Ireland pushed for the fourth bonus-point-clinching try to cap off interim coach Simon Easterby's first game in charge and got it through replacement Dan Sheehan.
England flanker Tom Curry halted the second-half onslaught and Tommy Freeman grabbed another consolation try at the death to earn England a losing bonus point.
"We have to give a lot of credit to England, they stuck it to us for the most part. They're a quality side with quality players," man of the match Gibson-Park said.
"I think we certainly saw glimpses of that [reaching our potential] in the second half, there was some nice footy being played. We'll take a bit of confidence out of that."
England bossed the opening period and took a deserved lead on nine minutes when Harlequins winger Murley collected a beautifully deft kick through from scrum-half Alex Mitchell before Marcus Smith added the conversion.
The speed of England's defensive line was having the desired impact and Steve Borthwick's men were also edging the aerial battle before one glaring infringement too many after Ireland began to make inroads sent Smith to the sin bin.
But a sloppy Ireland failed to take immediate advantage as Borthwick's decision to start three opensides in the back-row -- including twins Ben and Tom Curry starting together for the first time -- also appeared to be paying early dividends.
However, the pressure eventually told as Smith returned with Irish winger James Lowe making the initial break from a tired defender on the halfway line before Gibson-Park sold Freddie Steward a dummy to go over.
Ireland's 21-year-old fly-half Sam Prendergast, starting his first Six Nations game, missed a relatively easy conversion and a Smith penalty doubled England's lead at the break.
England's defence needed to dig deep again as soon as the second half began and they were firmly pinned back when Aki drove past three English defenders to score in the corner.
Prendergast, who set up the try, missed another conversion but the scores weren't level for long as England's penalty count ticked up and the Leinster youngster nailed a long penalty to put the hosts in front for the first time.
Ireland did not put the foot down straight away -- continuing with some of the errors that marked an uneven November series -- but once Beirne broke through to make it 20-10, there was no way back for a punchdrunk England.
Sheehan's try looked an inevitability and while Curry and Freeman gave England a losing bonus point, it was ultimately a seventh narrow loss in nine games for Borthwick since England wrecked Ireland's grand slam dreams a year ago.
The schedule potentially opens up now for Ireland who will fancy making winning trips to Scotland and Wales before coming home for a mouth-watering potential title decider against France on March 8.
Further reading:
- Why each team will find Six Nations success, and why they won't
- WATCH: Can Scotland win their first title since 1999? ESPN writers debate
- Six Nations and Women's Six Nations: Full fixture list
- Six Nations history, past winners, more