After a nervy first half, Ireland showed their class with a flurry of second half tries to see off England on Saturday evening.
Under interim head coach Simon Easterby, Ireland are looking to claim a historic 'three-peat' of Six Nations titles and got their campaign off to the perfect start with a bonus point 27-22 win.
In truth, the scoreline flattered England, though it had looked at half-time as though the visitors might have a day to remember in Dublin. They went in at the break 10-5 up and the game swung on a superb opening to the second half from Ireland.
Their charge was led by James Lowe and Jamison Gibson-Park.
The Leinster duo put in inspiratonal performances on Saturday, with Lowe a driving force for three of Ireland's tries and using his physicality and energy superbly throughout. Gibson-Park, meanwhile, was Ireland's first try scorer, and was similarly exceptional in managing the game as Ireland took control in the second-half.
Speaking on ITV after the game, former England head coach Eddie Jones said he felt that the performances of Lowe and Gibson-Park summed up the gulf in class that exists between the two teams.
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Eddie Jones thinks England are way off Ireland's level
Ex-England coach Eddie Jones made his Six Nations punditry debut on Saturday, and gave a frank assessment of his former team's weaknesses during the post-match discussion.
Aussie Jones said that he felt that Jamison Gibson-Park and James Lowe had displayed something that England and the rest of the chasing pack simply do not have, and said that he believed Ireland and France are operating at a level above the rest of the teams in the Six Nations.
I think they are. You just saw today the quality of Gibson-Park and Lowe in the second half. They really dominated the game and the rest of the team went with them.
For England to go forward, they need a couple of those senior guys to really step up, show the way and bring the younger guys with them.
The second half was almost the opposite of the first. The first ten minutes, Ireland dominated possession, they used it a lot better in the second half. They looked sharper.
Maybe England fell off their line speed a bit in defence. There was a bit of a gap in the second half between the two teams.
Jones departed his role as England head coach in acrimonious fashion a year out from the 2023 World Cup.
When asked how he would have reacted to Saturday's defeat if he had been head coach, Jones joked that he was happy he did not have to worry about those problems anymore.
I'm glad I'm not [England coach]!
You've got to look back and find some positives from the game. Their defence in the first half, their breakdown work was good.
Also that ability just to stay in the game. Second half they gave away seven penalties and two free-kicks...Ireland got their rhythm. You've got to be able to just keep doing your job. That's something you've just got to do through hard practice.
England's Six Nations journey does not get any easier after their beating at the hands of Ireland.
Antoine Dupont and France are the visitors to Twickenham next Saturday, for a tie that could bring yet more misery for Steve Borthwick's troops.
For Ireland, it was the perfect start to their Six Nations defence. They travel to Murrayfield next week to face Scotland, who similarly got off to a winning start against Italy on Saturday.
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