It was always going to be like this.
England trailed Ireland 10-3 after a blistering first half in Dublin.
The final game of this year’s Six Nations was delayed thanks to the ridiculous scenes at the end of the France v Wales match at the Stade de France.
With the game delayed, you might have expected a slow, tentative start from both sides in Ireland, but the events in France certainly had no effect.
With just a few minutes on the clock, Ireland’s Jonathan Sexton received the ball in midfield and released a grubber kick for the Irish players to chase.
Once he released the kick, Sexton had to deal with a steamrolling James Haskell who had lined up a bone-shuddering tackle.
Bone-shuddering hit on Sexton, expect a few more of these throughout the game..:#IrevEng #RBS6Nations pic.twitter.com/TYS8rBgWA2
— Seán McMahon (@Sean_McMahon89) March 18, 2017
To be fair to Sexton, he got straight back up and continued the game with little complaint.
It didn’t take long for the 31-year-old to be on the receiving end of another borderline challenge.
This time, Maro Itoje smashed the Leinster and Ireland star after he had released a pass.
Some more English attention on Sexton… #IREvENG #RBS6Nations pic.twitter.com/TVvseOBdIg
— Seán McMahon (@Sean_McMahon89) March 18, 2017
Sexton was also captain for a short period while Rory Best left the field to conduct a head injury assessment.
And it didn’t end there for Sexton, there were numerous cases in the first half where Sexton was held on the ground after being tackled or after being cleared out from defensive rucks.
England were clearly trying to rattle Sexton as they chased a Grand Slam victory in Dublin.
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