Caelan Doris says performance against England is a benchmark for Ireland

By Edward Elliot, Press Association

Ireland captain Caelan Doris believes Saturday’s record-breaking 42-21 demolition of England is a new benchmark for future performances.

Andy Farrell’s side responded to their detractors in emphatic fashion by securing Ireland’s largest win at Twickenham courtesy of a stunning display in the Guinness Six Nations.

Ireland’s heavy round-one loss away to France had fuelled suggestions the team is in decline following a tough autumn series before last weekend’s unconvincing win over Italy did little to quell the concerns.

“I spoke about Paris being a reference point where hopefully we’ll see a pretty steep incline in terms of performances,” said Doris.

“I think this will now be a reference point that we look back on as a proper good performance that’s given us a lot of belief.

“I’ve also mentioned that at the core of what we’re doing in training, in camp, there has been belief still, and I think you saw some of that through how we played.

“It was just an unbelievable atmosphere. You talk about inspiring the nation and getting the Irish people behind us and hopefully that brought both the people here and at home a bit of joy.

“We definitely enjoyed it.”

Ireland’s previous biggest victory away to England was a 32-15 success in 2022.

Back-rower Doris played a starring role in south-west London and was singled out for praise by head coach Farrell.

“I thought he had his best game in a good while,” Farrell said. “He was immense in his carry. That’s Caelan at his best.

“How he led from the front and got us over the gainline was outstanding, but we could 100 per cent have two minutes on every single person out there.”

Ireland led 22-7 at half-time following tries from man-of-the-match Jamison Gibson-Park, Robert Baloucoune and replacement wing Tommy O’Brien.

Dan Sheehan and Jamie Osborne crossed in the second period, with fly-half Jack Crowley slotting four conversions and three penalties after being selected ahead of Sam Prendergast.

“It looked like we were hunting people down throughout the game,” said Farrell.

“It’s one thing going up with a good start and getting the bonus point there as far as four tries is concerned, but how we kick-chased, how we kept hunting down the breakdown, all that type of stuff, it shows that that’s a proper performance where there’s no egos.

“Everyone’s just going for it together and trying to gain a little bit more respect off one another.”

Following a rest week, Ireland face back-to-back Dublin appointments with Wales and Scotland as they chase the Triple Crown and attempt to put pressure on defending champions France.

Asked about a potential title challenge, Farrell said: “What will be, will be.

“We’ve got a fallow week and we’ll review the start of the competition and seeing how much we’ve grown.

“The important part for us is to keep doing that in the last two weeks. What will be, will be, really.”