Ireland opens bid for record third straight Six Nations title by beating England 27-22

DUBLIN (AP) — Ireland got off to a five-point start to its bid for an unprecedented third straight outright Six Nations rugby title, overpowering England in a second-half recovery to rack up a 27-22 victory in Dublin on Saturday.

Trailing 10-5 at halftime after constantly coughing up scoring opportunities, the Irish were more accurate — and rampant for a while — after halftime and ran in tries through Bundee Aki, Tadhg Beirne and Dan Sheehan against an increasingly ragged England to secure an attacking bonus point.

England started twins for the first time in its men’s team and flankers Tom and Ben Curry contributed to an impressive scrambling defensive effort in the first half, during which the visitors had an early converted try for debutant Cadan Murley and a 40th-minute penalty from Marcus Smith.

All Ireland could muster amid its territorial dominance was a try from scrumhalf Jamison Gibson-Park that came about following a missed tackle from England scrumhalf Alex Mitchell on James Lowe on the left wing. That score came in the last seconds of a sin-binning for Smith that England weathered gamely.

But the English couldn’t maintain it, and were steamrollered by Ireland for much of the second half at Aviva Stadium. England at least gained a losing bonus point courtesy of tries from Tom Curry in the 76th — by which time his brother had been replaced — and Tommy Freeman.

“It was a little patchy to begin with but we produced some nice stuff in the end. A lot of credit to England," Gibson-Park said.

“We improved our accuracy and things stuck better in the second half."

In the 142 years of the tournament, which started out as an event for the home unions before the additions of France and then Italy, no team has won the title outright for three straight years. Ireland is over its first big hurdle and heads to Murrayfield next weekend to play Scotland, which opened with a 31-19 win over Italy.

England, meanwhile, has lost seven of its last nine games, with the only wins coming against Japan. The pressure is building on coach Steve Borthwick and it won't get any easier next week when Antoine Dupont and France visit Twickenham. Inspired by Dupont, France crushed Wales 43-0 in the tournament opener on Friday.

Lowe didn't score a try but the left winger was key to Ireland's fightback against England.

It was Lowe who shrugged off Mitchell for Gibson-Park's 35th-minute try that undid so much good work by the English defense in an intense first half that started with Murley running onto Henry Slade's grubber kick and getting ahead of Josh van der Flier to ground.

The temperature inside Lansdowne Road rose when Lowe got involved in a scuffle with England fullback Freddie Steward that saw the Ireland supporters gain their voice early in the second half.

And it was Lowe who broke England's defensive line on the crash ball and passed outside for lock Beirne to trundle over for the key third try in the 64th that pushed Ireland 20-10 ahead.

Lowe capped his performance with a bustling run down the left wing, through Smith, to set up replacement hooker Sheehan for the bonus-point try in the 72nd that ended England's chances of victory.

“I thought the first half was fantastic and we did everything we wanted to do," said Maro Itoje, England's new captain. “The second half we lost the territory a little bit and we struggled to get out.”

AP rugby: https://apnews.com/hub/rugby

Ireland's Tadhg Beirne, second left, celebrates after scoring a try during the Six Nations rugby union match between Ireland and England at the Aviva Stadium in Dublin, Saturday, Feb. 1, 2025. (AP Photo/Peter Morrison)

England's Maro Itoje stands on the pitch with teammates after his side lost the Six Nations rugby union match between Ireland and England at the Aviva Stadium in Dublin, Saturday, Feb. 1, 2025. (AP Photo/Peter Morrison)

England's Tommy Freeman gestures at the end of the Six Nations rugby union match between Ireland and England at the Aviva Stadium in Dublin, Saturday, Feb. 1, 2025. (AP Photo/Peter Morrison)

England's Ben Curry holds the ball during the Six Nations rugby union match between Ireland and England at the Aviva Stadium in Dublin, Saturday, Feb. 1, 2025. (AP Photo/Peter Morrison)

England's Cadan Murley runs with the ball during the Six Nations rugby union match between Ireland and England at the Aviva Stadium in Dublin, Saturday, Feb. 1, 2025. (AP Photo/Peter Morrison)

England's Marcus Smith, left, and Ireland's Hugo Keenan battle for the ball during the Six Nations rugby union match between Ireland and England at the Aviva Stadium in Dublin, Saturday, Feb. 1, 2025. (AP Photo/Peter Morrison)

Ireland's Jamison Gibson-Park passes the ball during the Six Nations rugby union match between Ireland and England at the Aviva Stadium in Dublin, Saturday, Feb. 1, 2025. (AP Photo/Peter Morrison)

Ireland's Josh van der Flier is tackled by England's Maro Itoje during the Six Nations rugby union match between Ireland and England at the Aviva Stadium in Dublin, Saturday, Feb. 1, 2025. (AP Photo/Peter Morrison)

Ireland's Ronan Kelleher, center, goes through to score a try that was disallowed for a foul on England's Maro Itoje, left, during the Six Nations rugby union match between Ireland and England at the Aviva Stadium in Dublin, Saturday, Feb. 1, 2025. (AP Photo/Peter Morrison)

England's Cadan Murley, center, celebrates after scoring the opening try during the Six Nations rugby union match between Ireland and England at the Aviva Stadium in Dublin, Saturday, Feb. 1, 2025. (AP Photo/Peter Morrison)

Ireland's James Lowe, right, breaks the tackle of England's Alex Mitchell during the Six Nations rugby union match between Ireland and England at the Aviva Stadium in Dublin, Saturday, Feb. 1, 2025. (AP Photo/Peter Morrison)

England's Maro Itoje wins a line out during the Six Nations rugby union match between Ireland and England at the Aviva Stadium in Dublin, Saturday, Feb. 1, 2025. (AP Photo/Peter Morrison)

England's Ellis Genge on the charge during the Six Nations rugby union match between Ireland and England at the Aviva Stadium in Dublin, Saturday, Feb. 1, 2025. (AP Photo/Peter Morrison)

Ireland's Bundee Aki is tackled during the Six Nations rugby union match between Ireland and England at the Aviva Stadium in Dublin, Saturday, Feb. 1, 2025. (AP Photo/Peter Morrison)

Ireland's Jamison Gibson-Park scores his side's first try during the Six Nations rugby union match between Ireland and England at the Aviva Stadium in Dublin, Saturday, Feb. 1, 2025. (AP Photo/Peter Morrison)

Ireland's Hugo Keenan is tackled by England's Tommy Freeman during the Six Nations rugby union match between Ireland and England at the Aviva Stadium in Dublin, Saturday, Feb. 1, 2025. (AP Photo/Peter Morrison)

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — Carolina Panthers starting left tackle Ickey Ekwonu has been ruled out of the remainder of Saturday’s wild-card game against the Los Angeles Rams with a right knee injury.

Ekwonu went down on Carolina’s second possession holding his knee following a Rams sack and remained on the ground for several minutes as several players gathered around him on one knee.

Ekwonu eventually got up and walked off the field under his own power. But after being examined by the medical staff, he climbed onto the cart and headed to the locker room.

Yosh Nijman replaced Ekwonu at left tackle.

Not long after Ekwonu went down, Panthers right guard Robert Hunt headed to the blue medical tent with a pectoral injury, tossing his helmet in frustration as he reached the sideline.

Hunt had returned this week after missing 15 games with a torn triceps and was hoping to provide a boost to the running game.

Austin Corbett took over for Hunt, who was listed as questionable to return.

For the Rams, cornerback Ahkello Witherspoon left with a shoulder injury in the second quarter and was also listed as questionable to return.

AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/nfl

Carolina Panthers offensive tackle Ikem Ekwonu (79) goes down with an injury during the first half of an NFL wild-card playoff football game against the Los Angeles Rams, Saturday, Jan. 10, 2026, in Charlotte, N.C. (AP Photo/Jacob Kupferman)