England lineout tactics leaves puzzling questions

Eddie Jones made it clear afterwards; something went wrong with the England lineout. Whether it was a tactic that failed, or a ploy to try and react to the Irish driving maul, England chose not to compete in the air with the Ireland jumpers. Meanwhile, the likes of Peter O’Mahony and Iain Henderson had a field day in disrupting the English throw.

The buck appears to fall with the lineout leader, Maro Itoje. The 22-year-old will need to take this experience as a learning curve and ensure the set-piece doesn’t falter so badly again.

It looked like resolving itself in the second half as England got their driving maul going. But a bizarre decision, in the 78th minute, not to compete for an Irish lineout when trailing 13-9 and needing the ball to win, leaves a lot of questions about what was going on with the English decision-making.

Ireland vs England player ratings Show all 32 1 /32 Ireland vs England player ratings Ireland vs England player ratings Ireland: 15. Rob Kearney- 7 Coped with everything that came his way and threatened on occasion. GETTY IMAGES Ireland vs England player ratings 14. Tommy Bowe - 6 Posed Nowell problems in the air but starved of clean ball in space. GETTY IMAGES Ireland vs England player ratings 13. Jared Payne - 7 Defensive work was of the highest calibre and didn’t put a foot wrong until injury forced him off. GETTY IMAGES Ireland vs England player ratings 12. Robbie Henshaw - 9 Strong running caused England huge problems and leaped above Goode for try that won the game. GETTY IMAGES Ireland vs England player ratings 11. Simon Zebo - 7 Excelled under the high ball as England continuously tested him and defended strongly. GETTY IMAGES Ireland vs England player ratings 10. Jonathan Sexton - 9 Tackled ferociously and his genius kept Ireland on the attack before exit gave England a reprieve. GETTY IMAGES Ireland vs England player ratings 9. Conor Murray - 8 Provided quick and clean ball behind dominant Irish pack and box-kicked for Henshaw’s try. GETTY IMAGES Ireland vs England player ratings 1. Jack McGrath - 7 Kept Dan Cole quiet which is enough in itself, carried well and added force to the maul. GETTY IMAGES Ireland vs England player ratings 2. Rory Best - 8 Unfaultable at the lineout, always had his hands on the ball in the maul and stood out in the pack. GETTY IMAGES Ireland vs England player ratings 3. Mike Ross - 8 Scrummaging was miles better than in the past and he won the battle with Marler. GETTY IMAGES Ireland vs England player ratings 4. Devin Toner - 9 Disrupted English lineout when Ireland were under pressure and outshone second-row partner O’Connell in the lineout. GETTY IMAGES Ireland vs England player ratings 5. Paul O'Connell - 7 Battled to the very end with a late charge down and continues to defy his age of 35. GETTY IMAGES Ireland vs England player ratings 6. Peter O'Mahony - 7 Carried well and was on the receiving end of some big runs, but stopped nearly everyone. GETTY IMAGES Ireland vs England player ratings 7. Sean O'Brien - 5 His first rampaging run at Ford led to the injury that forced him off in a rather dazed fashion. GETTY IMAGES Ireland vs England player ratings 8. Jordi Murphy - 8 In to replace Heaslip and paid back the favour with a brilliant display on the floor to win numerous penalties. GETTY IMAGES Ireland vs England player ratings Best off the bench: Tommy O'Donnell - 6 On for the injured O’Brien after 25 minutes and added running power where needed. GETTY IMAGES Ireland vs England player ratings England: 15. Alex Goode - 8 His kicking got better as the game went on and his dancing out of the deadball zone was sublime, but beaten in the air for the try. GETTY IMAGES Ireland vs England player ratings 14. Anthony Watson - 6 One second-half break threatened to open the game but panicked with a pass to thin air. Getty Images Ireland vs England player ratings 13. Jonathan Joseph - 6 Given little chance to show his agile best and replaced when England’s chances were dying. Getty Images Ireland vs England player ratings 12. Luther Burrell - 5 Didn’t put in his best shift and will be under pressure for selection against Scotland. Getty Images Ireland vs England player ratings 11. Jack Nowell - 6 Picked in favour of Jonny May, and showed why with impressive pace, but targeted in the air. Ireland vs England player ratings 10. George Ford - 6 Missed penalty would have levelled it up early and two errant passes, but continues to learn at this level. Getty Images Ireland vs England player ratings 9. Ben Youngs - 6 Caught at the base on occasion but passing was good enough before being withdrawn. Getty Images Ireland vs England player ratings 1. Joe Marler - 5 Couldn’t find an edge on Ross which was a surprise and suffered as a result. Getty Images Ireland vs England player ratings 2. Dylan Hartley - 6 Lost two lineouts and was absent in the loose, though his defence was commendable. Getty Images Ireland vs England player ratings 3. Dan Cole - 7 Came to life late on with a barnstorming run over Healy and tried his best to snaffle a turnover or two. Getty Images Ireland vs England player ratings 4. Dave Attwood - 5 Ill-disciplined throughout and was probably the most disappointing in white. Getty Images Ireland vs England player ratings 5. George Kruis - 7 Disrupted the Irish maul very well and the fact he stayed on for the 80 shows how far he’s come. Getty Images Ireland vs England player ratings 6. James Haskell - 6 Gave away an early penalty, and given no quarter at the ruck where he was caught isolated repeatedly. Getty Images Ireland vs England player ratings 7. Chris Robshaw - 6 Tackling was as determined as ever but sloppy with ball in hand. Getty Images Ireland vs England player ratings 8. Billy Vunipola - 7 Another who improved as England grew into the game, but ran out of options after an impressive 40m break. Getty Images Ireland vs England player ratings Best of the bench: Richard Wigglesworth - 6 Injected some pace into England’s attack with two good breaks. Getty Images

Sexton shows he’s hard as nails

The fly-half was hit hard by James Haskell, then borderline late by Itoje, and then again by the Saracens forward in a bone-shuddering tackle that left the fly-half needing treatment. And yet he continued to give it his all.

Sexton’s moment to shine came with the boot, his beautifully struck 45m penalty on the angle a crushing blow to the England fightback that lifted the stadium and the men in green. But it was his desire to continue, despite having a more than able replacement lying in wait in Paddy Jackson, to see the game out.

Any questions over his inclusion in the British and Irish Lions XV this summer have been answered, such has been his decisive influence in every game he’s played in.

Heaslip injury a stroke of luck

The loss of such an important figure in Jamie Heaslip would normally destroy a sides spirit before kick-off, but it meant that Joe Schmidt had to re-jig his back-row to accommodate the returning Peter O’Mahony, with David Leavy named on the replacements.

It proved to be a match-winning change, as man-of-the-match O’Mahony sigle-handedly picked apart the English lineout and had a destructive impact on the oppositions defence. Schmidt flatly rejected any accusation of an underhand tactical switch, and you believed him, but it proved to be a very important one nonetheless.

Decision to bring Henderson in a tactical win for Schmidt

Another big contribution from the Ireland head coach was the decision to drop Devin Toner, all 6ft 10in of him, to bring in Iain Henderson. The more combative Ulster forward was able to perform in the lineout and get himself about the park, and what shone through most was his ability to break the gainline every time he carried.

Iain Henderson's return to the team was a selection masterstroke (Getty) (Getty Images)

That was none so prominent as when he carried the ball to within inches of the try line, before stretching out his arm to dot the ball down for the only try of the match. It proved to be a decisive carry given the four-point margin.

England deserve praise despite grand Slam choke

Yes, it was another missed Grand Slam, and yes, it was another case of England choking when the pressure was on. But, this also was the end of the best run of form in English rugby history, and for that Eddie Jones and his side have to be commended, not slated.

England will recover from this - but will they learn? (Getty)

This is a remarkable side that can snatch victory from the jaws of defeat, which made it all the more surprising that they weren’t able to get over the line when Jones sent on his “finishers”. England can’t be written off as the potential New Zealand-challengers that they were before this match after just one defeat, but it’s now a question of seeing if they learn from this experience.