By Gary Watton
September 7 2015

Keith Wood stated that it is best not to peak too soon, and by Jove the Irish won't be accused of that! Since winning quite handsomely in Cardiff at the beginning of August, their World Cup preparations have gone on the slide - at least in terms of results. Mind you, the quality of opposition has probably improved with every outing, and although the setback in south-west London represents back-to-back reverses for the Oirish, they have lost their last two matches narrowly. That said, the men in green were second best in Dublin against Wales and second best at Twickenham.

In fact, with England resting on a comfortable twelve-three interval advantage, there was a fear that the hosts might go on a second-half rampage which would seriously have undermined Irish morale. Instead of which, the visitors rallied reasonably well, but they were always behind. It was of course massively ironic that the only major injury concern came in the guise of a head knock from Murray, with scrum half being the one position that Joe Schmidt gambled on not reinforcing. Having said that, Conor Murray will be fighting fit for the start of the World Cup tournament in the next fortnight.

It is difficult to say what has been learned from this encounter, although comparing this week and last week, it is patently obvious that Henderson is a far more dynamic presence in the second row ahead of the giraffe Toner, who is lacking in the ball-carrying department. Otherwise, when Rob Kearney and hopefully Cian Healy return to the starting fifteen, then they can add value. I hope that the in-form Zebo is reshuffled to the left wing at the expense of the solid but unspectacular Dave Kearney.

Anyhow, the pre-tournament skirmishes are over, with the team having won twice and lost twice. This statistic kind of sums up where Ireland are at present. There are positives and negatives. If they can address the areas of concern, then they can be a force to be reckoned with in September and October. Murray and Sexton are pivotal. The backs must accurately execute chances that come their way, while the forwards must boss possession. Failing all of this, it will be another World Cup of woe for the men from the Emerald Isle.

England 21 IRELAND 13; in London; Saturday the 5th of September 2015.

15 Zebo

14 Bowe

13 Payne

12 Henshaw

11 Kearney.D

10 Sexton [two penalties; one conversion]

9 Murray

8 Heaslip

7 O'Brien

6 O'Mahony

5 O'Connell (captain) [TRY]

4 Toner

3 Ross

2 Best

1 McGrath

Used replacements: Reddan; Cave; Madigan; White; Henry; Strauss; Ryan; Furlong