Ireland 29-10 England: More misery for Steve Borthwick's side ahead of the World Cup as the Irish take full advantage of Billy Vunipola's red card to score five tries in Dublin Ireland produced a brilliant display to beat England in Dublin on Saturday Steve Borthwick's Roses struggled to impress against tough opposition England's Billy Vunipola had a yellow card upgraded to a red in the match By Nik Simon For The Mail On Sunday Published: 14:28 EDT, 19 August 2023 | Updated: 17:19 EDT, 19 August 2023 e-mail 317 shares 191 View comments There was wreckage all across Dublin on Saturday. Storm Betty wreaked havoc on the Irish capital, blowing down trees, cutting off power and trapping elderly people in their homes. And then there were England’s World Cup hopes, whipped up into a pile of debris on the Aviva Stadium pitch. It was a disaster zone. Their campaign should be marked with a warning sign because the ground is quickly collapsing beneath their feet. Another week, another red card. Were no lessons learned? Billy Vunipola will join Owen Farrell in the dock this week as England hit the big self-destruct button once again. Richard Smith KC should be doubling his fees. England’s in-house barrister, possibly the busiest man in rugby, stood at the back of the press conference as Steve Borthwick tried to explain this shambles of an evening. There was not much in his answers to breed confidence that things will improve any time soon. England’s only saving grace is that most of the other teams on their side of the World Cup draw are also taking hammerings. His words about England’s faltering attack sounded all too familiar. Discipline will be the dominant narrative here but the performance itself was dreadful. By the final whistle, England were on their knees. Remember the glimmer of optimism when Borthwick took over at the start of the year? Remember the last time one of England’s backs scored a try? It all feels like a lifetime ago. Bundee Aki (middle) ran in Ireland's first try of the afternoon against England in Dublin England were well-beaten in Ireland as their Rugby World Cup preparations took another blow Mack Hansen (middle) added Ireland's fourth try of the match to take the game away from England England spent 2.3% of the game in the Irish 22. They were slow and predictable, happy to kick uncontested kicks down Irish throats and follow it up with sloppy, passive tackles. We have the Lionesses, we have Bazball and then we have this. Andy Farrell said his Ireland side were off the pace yet his team outscored England by five tries to one. That is how far England have fallen behind. During the final minutes of the warm-up, wearing tracksuit and trainers, Farrell stood side-by-side with Steve Borthwick. They watched England’s last few training drills, as the starting XV ran through their moves against men in bibs. Yet even in an unopposed session against reserves under instructions not to tackle, England still fumbled balls. It always felt like a long night was in store. They watched George Ford kicked England to an early lead but then it was all downhill. Whenever England had the ball, they seemed to kick it away. They targeted Mack Hansen time after time in the air, giving him so much ball that he was named man-of-the-match by a country mile. With 10 minutes on the clock, Ben Youngs sent a box kick down Hansen’s throat. All 50,000 in the stadium saw it coming, including Hansen himself. Ireland were ready and waiting, sending the ball wide to stretch England’s defence. Josh van der Flier sent Peter O’Mahony clear with a tip pass and Aki burst clear to score. Straight through the middle. England’s ruck speed was slow, with Youngs often taking more than six seconds to recycle the ball. They have repeatedly failed to convert in the 22 and there was a familiar feeling as Dave Ribbans was turned over by Cian Predergast on their first visit to the red zone. ‘Oh my goodness,’ said a frustrated Jamie George as he conceded a free kick at the scrum, as his pack conceded a series of cheap penalties. Maro Itoje was penalised for closing the space at the lineout, Ribbans clumsily blocked a pass, George was penalised at the ruck and Vunipola was done for coming in at the side. Most of the forwards seemed to join the party. Billy Vunipola (middle) was sent off after being shown a red card for a dangerous tackle Ford missed his second shot at goal, and then missed a kick to touch. Ireland kicked it back and Vunipola dropped the ball. You get the jist. Just before half time, Ireland struck again. Attacking from a lineout, the hosts dropped deep to neutralise English line speed. After Peter O’Mahony carried down the left, Hansen sent a crossfield kick to Garry Ringrose to score. They were far more connected in attack and boy did it show. Hope is in short supply with this England team but any remnants of it quickly faded in the second half. They were caught in their own 22, throwing the ball around like a hot potato. It was clueless rugby and ended with Itoje being penalised for sealing off. Ireland's Keith Earls scored his side's final try on what was his 100th international appearance England head coach Steve Borthwick watched on as his side were unhinged by Ireland's attack With 53 minutes on the clock, things went from bad to worse. Vunipola struck prop Andrew Porter with force and was shown a yellow card with a bunker review. Ireland were furious. They let out their frustrations with a James Lowe try down the left wing and shortly after the decision was upgraded to red. High level of danger, no mitigation, no wrap, no hope. Next up, Itoje was penalised for a high tackle – yes, really – and Ireland attacked from the lineout. The numerical advantage was too much and Hansen, with his bright green hair hidden beneath his scrum hat, scored another down the opposite wing. It usually takes a punch in the face to wake up this England team and they hit back with a pushover try for prop Kyle Sinckler. Still, no back has scored since Freddie Steward’s try against France in March. Everything felt so predictable – including the joyful narrative that Keith Earls would come off the bench to score a summersault try to mark his 100th appearance. It was the knockout blow that put England to sleep. Perhaps it is best that we all wake up again when September ends. Share or comment on this article: Ireland 29-10 England: More misery for Steve Borthwick's side ahead of the World Cup as the Irish take full advantage of Billy Vunipola's red card to score five tries in Dublin e-mail 317 shares Add comment Comments 191 Share what you think Newest Oldest Best rated Worst rated View all The comments below have not been moderated. 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