England and Ireland's Six Nations arm-wrestle at Twickenham ended in a 13-10 win for the home side.

When Courtney Lawes was taken out at the lineout, Owen Farrell landed England's first points with a 47m penalty.

A second Farrell penalty would have let England breathe a little easier, only for the wind to push it on to the left post, leaving the score at 3-0 at half-time.

Ireland began the second period with the necessary bang. Rob Kearney screamed through a gaping hole on an inside ball that left even Irish fans in the ground in disbelief, such was its simplicity.

Following Kearney’s try, It was a period of pure control reminiscent of the 80 minutes Ireland produced against Wales, and it ended with a score – Sexton's three-pointer stretching the lead to 10-3.

England responded well with another penalty from Farrell, and then Mike Brown making a break and passing to release Danny Care for a try. With Farrell adding the conversion, England's 13-10 lead was enough to last until the final whistle.

England – Tries: Danny Care. Conversion: Owen Farrell. Penalties: Farrell (2)
Ireland – Tries: Rob Kearney. Conversions: Johnathan Sexton. Penalty: Sexton.

England – 15 Mike Brown, 14 Jack Nowell, 13 Luther Burrell, 12 Billy Twelvetrees, 11 Jonny May, 10 Owen Farrell, 9 Danny Care, 8 Billy Vunipola, 7 Chris Robshaw (c), 6 Tom Wood, 5 Courtney Lawes, 4 Joe Launchbury, 3 David Wilson, 2 Dylan Hartley, 1 Joe Marler.
Subs: 16 Tom Youngs, 17 Mako Vunipola, 18 Henry Thomas, 19 David Attwood, 20 Ben Morgan, 21 Lee Dickson, 22 George Ford, 23 Alex Goode.

Ireland – 15 Rob Kearney, 14 Andrew Trimble, 13 Brian O'Driscoll, 12 Gordon D'Arcy, 11 Dave Kearney, 10 Jonathan Sexton, 9 Conor Murray, 8 Jamie Heaslip, 7 Chris Henry, 6 Peter O'Mahony, 5 Paul O'Connell (c), 4 Devin Toner, 3 Mike Ross, 2 Rory Best, 1 Cian Healy.
Subs: 16 Sean Cronin, 17 Jack McGrath, 18 Martin Moore, 19 Mike McCarthy, 20 Tommy O'Donnell, 21 Issac Boss, 22 Paddy Jackson, 23 Fergus McFadden.

Photo: Glyn Kirk/AFP Photo