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)

LONDON (AP) — Hundreds of people in Ireland are calling for justice for a Congolese man who died after he was restrained by security guards outside a Dublin department store.

Activists said disturbing video of Yves Sakila in distress as he was pinned to the sidewalk was reminiscent of the killing of George Floyd by police officers in Minneapolis in 2020.

Sakila, 35, had been chased and detained May 15 by several security guards who suspected him of shoplifting at Arnotts, Ireland's oldest and largest department store, in the heart of Dublin. He was unresponsive when police arrived and was later pronounced dead at a hospital.

“Yves Sakila was a man who did not deserve to die," Suzie Tansia, of the Congolese Community Ireland, said at a demonstration Thursday. "He was a human being, like you and I. He was somebody’s son, and that could have been any one of us.”

Here are some things to know about the incident.

Attorney John Gerard Cullen, who represents the man's family, said Sakila allegedly stole a bottle of perfume from the store.

Sakila was pursued by security officers as he fled, knocking over a man in his 80s who was hospitalized with injuries, police said.

Video of the incident, described by the Irish Network Against Racism as “very disturbing," shows a man said to be Sakila struggling and crying out in distress as he was held down by several men for nearly five minutes.

As he was subdued, another man, wearing a gray suit, appears to kneel on Sakila's neck, the group said. By the end of the video, he is motionless.

“We are very concerned that this case appears to have the hallmarks of a case of excessive use of force,” said Shane O’Curry, director of the network. "The death of a Black man in such circumstances is extremely worrying, and we urge the authorities to thoroughly investigate all of the circumstances leading to this man’s death, in order to ensure minority ethnic community confidence in the criminal justice system.”

The department store said it was “deeply saddened” by Sakila's death and was conducting a review of its privately contracted security services. It said it was cooperating with police.

Prime Minister Micheál Martin called for a thorough investigation.

“My deepest sympathies go out to his family, and to the wider Congolese community,” Martin said. “I don’t want to prejudice the outcome of that investigation but I think a lot of people are clearly very concerned about what has transpired here.”

Police are investigating the death but are also the subject of an internal probe by the ombudsman into their response.

News reports said the first officers on the scene handcuffed Sakila before realizing he was unresponsive and performing CPR.

An autopsy has been completed, but police have not released the cause of death, citing operational reasons.

Cullen said Sakila's family is frustrated at the little information they have been provided.

Police have asked for witnesses to come forward.

Sakila had moved from Congo to Galway as a teen and lived in Ireland more than 20 years. He had worked in the technology industry but was homeless in recent years. Cullen said Sakila struggled with drug abuse.

Walter Kabangu, the director of the Congolese Chamber of Commerce in Ireland who went to school with Sakila, described him as a “very down-to-earth young man."

A vigil was held Tuesday outside Arnotts and hundreds of protesters peacefully gathered Thursday outside Parliament.

They held signs that said “Black lives matter here too," and shouted, “Justice for Yves, dignity for all,” and “No justice, no peace.”

Before the protest, the Black Coalition Ireland held a news conference and announced five demands: a transparent investigation of the death; racial training for police; laws against excessive force in civilian detention; an end to “demonizing rhetoric” against ethnic communities; and equal treatment for all in practice — not just on paper.

“We are demanding this because our lives matter," said Yemi Adenuga, a Meath County councilor who is a spokeswoman for the coalition. "It would be sad to see this happen again on the streets of Dublin.”

Walter Kabangu, director of the Congolese Chamber of Commerce in Ireland, taking part in a protest outside Leinster House in Dublin, Ireland, Thursday, May 21, 2026, over the death of Congolese man Yves Sakila following an incident with security guards at a Dublin department store. (Cillian Sherlock/PA via AP)