Henry Slade double sees England stun favourites Ireland in Six Nations opener
Relive all the action from the Six Nations clash at the Aviva Stadium
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Your support makes all the difference.England stunned reigning Six Nations champions Ireland 32-20 to take a giant step towards reclaiming their crown with a first win in Dublin for six years.
Leading 17-13 in an epic opening-weekend title showdown that lived up to expectations, they engineered the decisive moment in the 66th minute when Henry Slade and Jonny May combined brilliantly from a scrum for Slade to touch down.
It was a try made possible by the pace of May, who along with Jack Nowell on the opposite wing was magnificent throughout an afternoon of drama and high-quality rugby.
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.
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.
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Good morning from a chilly Dubin and welcome to The Independent's live coverage of today's Six Nations clash between Ireland and England, brought to you from pitchside at the Aviva Stadium.
With kick-off scheduled for 4:45pm, we'll begin our full build up at 2:45pm while also keeping an eye on the Scotland vs Italy match at Murrayfield and reflect on the brilliant encounter in Paris last night as Wales defeated France 24-19.
On that note, here's how the curtain-raiser unfolded at the Stade de France:
Well I'm delighted to report that the sun is shining and it's clear skies over Dublin this afternoon, giving us the perfect conditions for running rugby in a couple of hours' time. The UK may be under a deluge of snow, but there's been barely a drop on this side of the Irish Sea and it should produce a frantically fast game.
The England team is in some two hours before kick-off and there's no changes to report, with everyone coming through Friday training and Saturday warm-up unscathed.
Ireland have until 3:45pm to get their team in, and of course the last time England were here at the Aviva Stadium, the home side saw Jamie Heaslip ruled out in the warm-up that led to Peter O'Mahony's introduction. How big an impact did that play? Well, the Munster flanker went on to claim man of the match and prevent England winning a second consecutive Grand Slam.
We'll keep our eyes peeled.
Ireland have confirmed no changes to the announced squad, which means they'll be lining up as follows:
Ireland: Robbie Henshaw; Keith Earls, Garry Ringrose, Bundee Aki, Jacob Stockdale; Johnny Sexton, Conor Murray; Cian Healy, Rory Best, Tadhg Furlong; Devin Toner, James Ryan; Peter O’Mahony, Josh van der Flier, CJ Stander.
Replacements: Sean Cronin, Dave Kilcoyne, Andrew Porter, Quinn Roux, Sean O’Brien, John Cooney, Joey Carbery, Jordan Larmour.
England: Elliot Daly; Jack Nowell, Manu Tuilagi, Henry Slade, Jonny May; Owen Farrell, Ben Youngs; Mako Vunipola, Jamie George, Kyle Sinckler; Maro Itoje, George Kruis; Mark Wilson, Tom Curry, Billy Vunipola.
Replacements: Luke Cowan-Dickie, Ellis Genge, Harry Williams, Courtney Lawes, Nathan Hughes, Dan Robson, George Ford, Mike Brown, Chris Ashton.
The national anthems are playing. We're just moments away as England and Ireland begin their Six Nations campaigns.
Ireland 0-7 England
What a start by the visitors. Farrell sends the kick-off deep and England force the lineout, which George deliberately overthrows straight into the arms of Tuilagi. It gives England possession on the edge of the Irish 22, and after strong runs from Sinckler and Curry, England come left.
Earls shoots out of the line for theintercept, but Farrell squeezes the ball past his reach and into the hands of Daly, and the full-back sucks in opposite man Henshaw before releasing Jonny May to score in the corner. Farrell converts from the touchline and England have made a flying start!
7 mins: A huge roar goes up from the crowd after Ireland win a free-kick in an effort to spur them into life, and the players respond by going wide immediately. Curry does well to track Stockdale and make the double-hit with Nowell, but he's to eager into the breakdown and gives away the penalty that Sexton kicks to around 35m out.
8 mins: Murray chips over for May to run back and collect, and he sends a long one trying to find touch deep in Irish territory. He does...but on the line and it's coming back as he's outside his 22. A big mistake from the try scorer and it gives Ireland possession and territory on the edge of the 22.
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