Joe Schmidt reaps benefit of united Ireland

There is much to savour and appreciate regarding Ireland’s Six Nations win over England on Sunday, and much of it comes down to the numbers.

There has rightly been praise for the performance of try-scoring man-of-the-match Robbie Henshaw but, as Donal Lenihan pointed out on these pages yesterday, the 19-9 dismissal of Stuart Lancaster’s side was about so much more than one individual. It was, as he suggested, “a win for the collective”.

Joe Schmidt’s players executed their head coach’s game plan to perfection at the Aviva, removing a strong English scrum as a serious threat, dominating the breakdown with ferocious intensity, and controlling territory through the superb game management of half-backs Conor Murray and Johnny Sexton and the aerial supremacy of their backline.