England skipper Maro Itoje admitted he was baffled by his side’s second-half collapse as they went down 27-22 to Ireland on a dismal night in Dublin.

England’s demise after half-time saw them concede 22 unanswered points to derail any hopes of a first win in Dublin since 2019.

They led 10-5 at the break before conceding three tries before late scores from Tom Curry and Tommy Freeman grabbed a losing bonus point.

Itoje said: “I thought the first half was fantastic. We did pretty much everything we wanted to. We lost territory though in the second half and struggled to exit. It is hard to dissect what the reason is right now but it was a territory thing. 

“It was a tremendous honour to captain this side. I grew up watching and wanting to play for England. But it is not really about me. Hopefully next week we can be better. This is a tight competition and every point matters. I am proud of us tonight.”

Boss Steve Borthwick added: “We want to win every game and we didn’t today but we have made progress.

“Ireland are such an experienced team and have been world class for so long – it was tough Test match and that experience showed in the third quarter. 

“We gave them field position and scoreboard pressure in a critical period. But I am very proud of the way the players attacked the game in the first half and how they came back to score a couple of tries to get the bonus point.

“It is hard to quantify. We started the second half with a lot of energy and effort but against one of the best attacking teams in the world the team improved defensively.

“But ultimately we came up short and that is disappointing. We will ensure we are better next week against France.”

Ireland scrum-half Jamison Gibson-Park scored the try that kept Ireland in touch before the break but admitted his side were not at their best.

Gibson-Park said: “We are pretty stoked. It was a little patchy to begin with but we got it right in the end. England are a classy side and they will go well in the tournament. We lacked accuracy in the first half. 

“There are a few things we need to work on but a few things we will enjoy watching back. I am pretty happy and lucky to be behind that pack going forward. It is a great environment to be a part of.”