Ireland beat England 32-15 after second-minute red card for Ewels

LONDON : Ireland took full advantage of a red card for England lock Charlie Ewels after less than two minutes of Saturday's Six Nations encounter at Twickenham to claim a bonus-point 32-15 victory that keeps them in the hunt for the title.

Ewels was sent off for a head-on-head tackle on Ireland second row James Ryan - the fastest dismissal since the championship began in 1883 - and led 15-9 at halftime after tries for James Lowe and Hugo Keenan.

Amid a feverish atmosphere England hit back superbly, smashing the Irish scrum, and levelled the scores with two Smith penalties.

However, Ireland finished strongly, pulling clear with another Sexton penalty and then tries by Jack Conan and Finlay Bealham that earned a potentially key bonus point.

France top the standings on 18 points after winning their first four games. Ireland have 16 and could still take their first title since 2018 with victory or possibly even a draw against Scotland in Dublin next week if England can upset France in Paris in the final game of the championship.

(Reporting by Mitch Phillips, editing by Christian Radnedge)