Composure under pressure saw us through, says Ireland's Sexton

LONDON : Ireland captain Johnny Sexton said Saturday's remarkable match against England was one his side would have lost a couple of years ago and that he was delighted they found a way to survive an onslaught to emerge 32-15 winners.

England, reduced to 14 men after a second-minute red card for lock Charlie Ewels, had battled back to 15-all going into the final 30 minutes, with the crowd right behind them and their scrum in total control.

Ireland, however, kept their discipline and finished strongly with two late tries to not only secure their biggest margin of victory at Twickenham but also the bonus point that could be vital as they seek to overhaul France on the final day of the championship next week.

"It was probably a mixed performance but it was outstanding to stick to the plan and we got our reward with a couple of tries that could be important in the championship race," flyhalf Sexton said.

"Two years ago we would probably have lost that game, we wouldn't have had the composure to regroup, but the mental skills we have now enabled us to.

"At times we tried to force things, against 14 you just need to do the basics well. They defended well, heroically at times, they stayed in there and put pressure on us."

Ireland coach Andy Farrell was also pleased with how his side maintained their concentration and made the right decisions amid an unusually raucous Twickenham atmosphere as the home fans were energised by England's gutsy battle.

"The crowd were behind them, momentum was going their way and sometimes with 14 men you have nothing to lose while with 15 you have everything to lose," he said.

"Sub-consciously when they were at 14 there was space for us. Some of the rugby was outstanding, making line break after line break,