Well, there it is...
Roles were reversed at Twickenham, as England popped Ireland's Grand Slam balloon, just as the Irish have done to them so many times before.
Ireland should have won the game, but only because they were leading in the final minute. Over the course of the full 80 minutes, it would be tough to argue against England being the better side.
On a disappointing day for Ireland, here's how we rated Andy Farrell's side...
Hugo Keenan - 7
Had to switch to the wing early on after Nash's injury, and it impacted his ability to get on the ball in more dangerous positions. Took a couple of important catches in the air, including one that led to Ireland's first try.
Calvin Nash - N/A
Had to depart just a few minutes into the game after suffering a head injury.
Robbie Henshaw - 6
Made nine tackles, including one important first-half tackle on Furbank that led to an Irish penalty, but wasn't able to generate much going forward against an aggressive English defence.
Bundee Aki (below) - 8
Gave away two penalties but made up for it by winning one back on 35 minutes, which Crowley kicked for points. Was consistently Ireland's most dangerous threat, on both sides of the ball. Carried relentlessly, and consistently got over the gainline. Had Ireland won, we'd be talking about his 77th-minute tackle on Marcus Smith for years.
James Lowe - 7
A mixed day for the wing. Scored both Irish tries, and still had plenty of work to do for each of those scores. Will be frustrated with some of his first-half kicking; his loose strike early in the game led to the counter-attack for Lawrence's try, while another was almost punished with a second try later in the half. Gave up the penalty advantage in the corner in the final minute for not rolling away.
Jack Crowley - 5
Made four kicks from four in the opening half, although each of those were relatively straight in front of the posts. His two conversions were from the touchline and went wide left and then right. Ollie Lawrence ran through him like he wasn't there for the first English try, while he struggled to create much in attack, albeit against an aggressive defence.
Jamison Gibson-Park - 7
Got Ireland out of a jam a couple of times in the first half with some good kicking, and when he had to move to the wing in the second half, he was targeted consistently with kicks, and dealt with them well. Sacrificed himself with a late pass for Lowe's try and got folded in half for his troubles.
Andrew Porter (below) - 7
One of Ireland's better performers. An early defensive intervention saw him force an English knock-on in the 22, and discipline was much improved. Put in nine tackles.
Dan Sheehan - 6
Not the hooker's best outing. While he contributed heavily in defence with 12 tackles, he had a costly miss on Ben Earl which led to the break before Peter O'Mahony's yellow card. Moments earlier he had seen a lineout get picked off, one of two lost throws.
Tadhg Furlong - 6
Showed some neat handling in the build-up to James Lowe's first try and had a couple of good carries. Got exposed in midfield for the second English try, while he was penalised on the first scrum of the day for dropping his knee.
Joe McCarthy - 6
Made 10 tackles, but couldn't impose himself on the game, while he was very quiet going forward. Was outplayed by the England second rows.
Tadhg Beirne (below) - 7
Forced two lineouts steals, pressured George Ford into a poor clearance, and also came up with an important turnover on his own line. Gave away that second penalty advantage in the final play of the game, but with an earlier advantage already coming, it probably made little impact, with Smith already in line to drop at goal.
Peter O'Mahony - 5
Picked up his second yellow card of the tournament when he infringed after tackling Ben Earl, although he had Dan Sheehan to thank for getting him in that trouble to begin with. The Ireland captain had been struggling to impact the game, and will be coming under pressure to stay in the team, given Ryan Baird's form.
Josh van der Flier - 7.5
Was replaced by Jack Conan on 60 minutes but had arguably been their best player on the pitch to that point. Made 12 carries and six tackles in that time, while his break in the opening minutes led to Ireland's first penalty kick. Blocked down a George Ford drop-goal attempt. Should have been kept on longer.
Caelan Doris - 6
Brought his usual workrate but wasn't able to impose himself on the game. Only Bundee Aki carried more for Ireland but England had him marked out from the first minute. Missed four tackles.
Replacements
Rónan Kelleher - 7
Impressed when he came on, and it was his jackal penalty that gave Ireland the platform for their second try. Nailed a high-pressure lineout to Iain Henderson under considerable challenge from England.
Cian Healy - 6
Came on in the final 10 minutes for Porter, and made two tackles.
Finlay Bealham - 6
Replaced a tiring Furlong midway through the second half, and was quite active with a combined seven passes and tackles.
Iain Henderson - 6
A rating of 6 balances out the good with the bad. Henderson was hugely involved in his 19 minutes, showing great handling for Lowe's second try, while he secured a big lineout in the last two minutes which looked like it might have sealed the win. Gave up two penalties though, one of which was nearly punished by Elliot Daly.
Ryan Baird - 7
Was only on 10 minutes but threw himself about, and a big kick-chase saw him make the crucial tackle before Kelleher's jackal penalty in the build-up to Lowe's try.
Jack Conan - 7
Got onto the ball regularly during his 20-minute showing and put a bit of spark into Ireland's carrying, even if it was ultimately in vain.
Conor Murray - 6
Will be criticised for not playing a little bit longer before his box-kick back to England on 79 minutes, but even if he held on for a couple of extra phases, that kick would still need to have been made, and the execution was solid. An earlier kick gave Ireland their penalty before Lowe's try, but a miscommunication between he and Aki saw an attack fall apart shortly after he came on.
Ciarán Frawley - 6
Hard to blame him for being caught out in the build-up to England's second try considering he was likely concussed at the time.
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