Six Nations Championship: Ireland's defeat to England 'humiliating reality check'

Ireland's Peter O'Mahony passes the ball to Ireland's Conor Murray, right, from a lineout during the Six Nations rugby union international between Ireland and England. Photo / AP

England's "ruthless" win over Ireland in the Six Nations has been hailed by the northern media, with a claim the performance will "reverberate" around the rugby world.

With the World Cup not too far away, England smashed Six Nations champions world number two Ireland by 32 - 20 in this year's tournament opener in Dublin.

Under a headline 'England stun Ireland', Paul Rees in the Guardian said Eddie Jones' side had displayed clear thinking at complete odds with their muddled approach a year go.

Ireland had been "seized by a ruthless England," he said.

England won by "relentlessly grinding down the champions, whose paucity of ideas when chasing a game was exposed."

Ireland's Peter O'Mahony passes the ball to Ireland's Conor Murray, right, from a lineout during the Six Nations rugby union international between Ireland and England. Photo / AP

The BBC described the victory as "arguably the most impressive of the Eddie Jones era".

Ruaidhri O'Connor in the Irish Independent claimed Ireland's Kiwi coach Joe Schmidt would be angry over a sloppy performance which had led to a "humiliating reality check".

"Welcome back to earth, Irish rugby...this was no soft exit from the Grand Slam race, this was as hard as they come."

In the Daily Mail, Nik Simon wrote: "England sent out a statement that will reverberate from Dublin, to Durban to Dunedin."

Owen Slot of The Times wrote: "...remember the All Blacks couldn't win here, only three months ago. So much went right here in a contest that was tight for the first hour with England's power finally winning out and allowing them to manage the final quarter on their own terms.

"England's chief victories were in the collisions. Manu Tuilagi at inside centre was a gamble that paid off handsomely."

The Daily Telegraph's Mick Clear reckoned "oh we of little faith. Eddie Jones had stoked the fires within his own squad by bemoaning the fact that England had been written off by all-comers."

"England were bold and resilient, clever of mind and teak-tough of body. These were the history boys, the ones to thrillingly re-write that Red Rose ledger of gloom that had recorded one win in Dublin in 15 years."

In the Times, Stuart Barnes wrote: "The eruption was the return of Manu Tuilagi to the England starting team.

"It wasn't on the scale of the 2012 performance, the game that rocked the rugby world as he and England tore through the heart of New Zealand but, nevertheless, Eddie Jones must have been rubbing his chilly hands at the prospect of what is to come when the Leicester Tiger hits full tilt."