Farrell savors record Ireland win over England at Twickenham: 'It is special'

LONDON (AP) — There's life in Ireland, after all.

The Irish were savoring a record 42-21 demolition job on England at Twickenham on Saturday that reignited their Six Nations title bid and dampened doubts about how much more a core group of thirtysomethings had to offer.

Plenty, it seems.

Not only was England shredded by a dozen line breaks, Ireland also put in a swarming defensive shift of 177 tackles to be the first team to storm England's fortress since November 2024 and pull off Ireland's biggest ever win at Twickenham.

“It's a special day, it 100% is to come here and perform like that,” Ireland coach Andy Farrell said.

"But even more so than that for us, I thought the respect that the lads showed for one another out there on the field was immense, the respect they showed for the jersey and what it meant to them, and the respect for the Irish people. To learn some lessons and grow as a team was the overriding feeling for me.

"We just had the Taoiseach (Micheal Martin) in the changing rooms there. We spoke as a group after that as well. It is special. It is special.

“I said it to the lads I didn't care whether we won or lost, just whether we grew as a group because we know where we want to go to and it just so happens that to the people of Ireland winning does matter.”

Ireland has slumped from No. 1 in the world at the 2023 Rugby World Cup to No. 5 and was expected to lose on Saturday after being thumped by France — its worst Six Nations loss in 16 years — and then only edging Italy. Then thoughts of a British and Irish Lions hangover and hanging on to a dozen players seemingly past their use-by date were obliterated.

“There has been belief still,” captain Caelan Doris said, “and I think you saw some of that through how we played today.”

The game was as good as over after Ireland's fourth try in the 43rd minute for 29-7. That brought smiles to the faces of Farrell and his assistants.

But what really roused Farrell was the relentless work. He was fist-pumping on his feet and yelling after notable try-saving tackles by Robert Baloucoune in the 63rd minute, when he came off his wing to knock over Tommy Freeman, and by Stuart McCloskey in the 73rd, when he chased down Marcus Smith from behind.

“It looked like we was hunting people down throughout the game,” Farrell said. “You know, it's one thing going up with a good start and getting the bonus point there as far as four tries is concerned, but how we kick-chased, how we kept hunting down the breakdown, all that type of stuff, it shows that that's a proper performance where there's no egos, that everyone's just going for it together and trying to gain a little bit more respect off one another.”

Ireland finishes at home with Wales and Scotland next month.

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

Britain's Kate, Princess of Wales, center, shakes hand with Irish Prime Minister Micheal Martin following the Six Nations rugby union match between England and Ireland in London, England, Saturday, Feb. 21, 2026. (AP Photo/Alastair Grant)

Ireland's Jamie Osborne, left, celebrates as teammate Rob Baloucoune scores a try during the Six Nations rugby union match between England and Ireland in London, England, Saturday, Feb. 21, 2026. (AP Photo/Alastair Grant)

Ireland's Stuart McCloskey, center, is tackled from behind during the Six Nations rugby union match between England and Ireland in London, England, Saturday, Feb. 21, 2026. (AP Photo/Alastair Grant)

Ireland's Jamie Osborne, center, celebrates with his teammates after scoring a try during the Six Nations rugby union match between England and Ireland in London, England, Saturday, Feb. 21, 2026. (AP Photo/Alastair Grant)

England's Fraser Dingwall, right, scores a try as Ireland's Joe McCarthy tries to tackle him during the Six Nations rugby union match between England and Ireland in London, England, Saturday, Feb. 21, 2026. (AP Photo/Alastair Grant)

CORTINA D'AMPEZZO, Italy (AP) — Laura Nolte didn't let this lead get away. She's golden, again.

And Kaillie Humphries Armbruster, in perhaps her Olympic bobsled finale, found her way to the medal stand for a record-tying sixth time.

Nolte is now the back-to-back two-woman Olympic bobsled champion, holding off teammate Lisa Buckwitz to grab gold at the Milan Cortina Games on Saturday night.

Nolte — the winner of the last four World Cup two-woman titles — cemented her status as the sport’s current queen, teaming with Deborah Levi to win her second consecutive two-woman gold medal by finishing four runs in 3 minutes, 48.46 seconds.

Buckwitz, with Neele Schuten in her sled, was second in 3:48.99. Humphries Armbruster and Jasmine Jones — two mothers in the same sled for the U.S. — finished third in 3:49.21. It was the sixth Olympic medal for Humphries Armbruster, tying monobob gold medalist Elana Meyers Taylor for the most by any woman in the sport’s history.

Also for the U.S., Kaysha Love — who has been dealing with a hamstring issue for much of the season and had it flare up again in Italy — and Azaria Hill finished fifth in 3:49.71.

“Azaria and I haven’t been doing this long enough to be anything other than proud,” Love said. “This is only my third season driving. It’s only her third season pushing. The people we’re up against have 20 years of experience. I want to be frustrated because I think that we expect greatness out of each other.”

Meyers Taylor and Jadin O’Brien, who were doomed by a second-heat skid at the top of the track Friday night, got a few spots back in the standings Saturday and finished tied for seventh in 3:50.49.

Germany now has six bobsled medals in these Olympics, while the U.S. has three and the rest of the world has zero. The divide might get bigger on Sunday in the final sliding event of the Milan Cortina Games; Germany, which already swept the two-man race, is in position to do the same thing in four-man after Saturday’s opening two heats of that competition.

And Germany is now up to 17 sliding medals, counting bobsled, skeleton and luge, at Milan Cortina — one more than the rest of the world. Austria has five, the U.S. now has four along with Italy, Britain has two and Latvia has one.

The two-woman race was basically for the bronze going into the final run.

Nolte — who had the lead, albeit a much smaller one, going into the final heat of the monobob competition that Meyers Taylor ended up winning — led Buckwitz by 0.35 seconds going into the last heat. Buckwitz’s lead over Humphries Armbruster was 0.19 seconds, and Humphries Armbruster was only 0.09 seconds up on Germany’s Kim Kalicki in the race for the bronze.

Kalicki’s final time: 3:49.36. It wasn’t enough to catch Humphries Armbruster, who hopped out of the sled and wrapped herself and Jones in the American flag, knowing the medal was theirs.

Humphries Armbruster’s updated Olympic medal count: three golds, three bronzes.

Meyers Taylor is 41, Humphries Armbruster is 40. Meyers Taylor is a mother of two, Humphries Armbruster has one son, and both women are talking about how they would like to add another baby to their families.

That means Saturday night might have been the last on the Olympic stage for them — and maybe on any sliding stage.

“It’s been a hell of a journey. I can’t even put into words what it’s meant to be able to do this for so long,” a teary Meyers Taylor said. “To be able to represent my country and be able to slide ... I don’t know if this is the end. It kind of feels like it is.”

It was the 177th race — counting World Cups, world championships, the short-lived monobob World Series and the Olympics — for Meyers Taylor at the major international level. She has 78 medals from those races, six of them coming in the Olympics, and was a winner either as a driver or pusher in three different decades.

And for Humphries Armbruster, who won three Olympic medals for Canada and now has three more for the U.S., the numbers are even more gaudy: 105 medals in 218 major international races, with 49 of them victories.

If this is the end, for either or for both of them, what a ride it was.

AP Winter Olympics: https://apnews.com/hub/milan-cortina-2026-winter-olympics

Germany's gold medalists Laura Nolte, left, and Deborah Levi celebrate after the two women bobsled competition at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy, Saturday, Feb. 21, 2026. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino)

United States' Elana Meyers Taylor, right, and Jadin O'Brien start for a two women bobsled run at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy, Saturday, Feb. 21, 2026. (AP Photo/Aijaz Rahi)

United States' Kaysha Love, right, and Azaria Hill start for a two women bobsled run at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy, Saturday, Feb. 21, 2026. (AP Photo/Aijaz Rahi)

United States' Kaillie Armbruster Humphries, left, and Jasmine Jones, right, arrive at the finish during a two women bobsled run at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy, Saturday, Feb. 21, 2026. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino)

United States' Kaillie Armbruster Humphries, left, and Jasmine Jones arrive at the finish during a two women bobsled run at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy, Saturday, Feb. 21, 2026. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino)

Germany's gold medalists Laura Nolte, left, and Deborah Levi celebrate after the two women bobsled competition at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy, Saturday, Feb. 21, 2026. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino)