The Irish, who were playing almost at home, in their city but in a stadium other than theirs, largely dominated the first period and led 15-3 at the break, then 20-3 shortly after, thanks to the Irish team’s third personal try. winger James Lowe.
But they were scared at the end of the match after several failures at the foot of fly-half Ross Byrne which could have put them in safety. The English came back to three points following a try from Tom Seabrook, coming off the bench, six minutes from time.