When Marcus Smith swung his right foot out on the final play of the game, he did more than win a rugby game for England.
Public interest in the sport needs maximum attention if this Six Nations competition is to avoid relinquishing silver medals at an early stage.
Smith's ice-cold drop goal put an end to the negative atmosphere surrounding rugby's richest and most resource-rich nation, giving Steve Borthwick and his coaching team some valuable breathing space.
Twickenham faithful rejoice
This was supposed to be the day England proved they were no match for the best teams in the business. A packed crowd left Twickenham having only enjoyed Rag and Bone Man's half-time set.
How different things are now that England are second in the table and their chances of leading Andy Farrell's side to the title on Super Saturday are gone.
This is a slim margin in professional sport, but such a scenario seemed a million miles away when the Irish arrived as favorites to win the 6/1ON.
There were probably only a few people in attendance who remembered a time when Ireland was quite ordinary. During the Five Kingdoms era, there were 25 wooden spoons, a total number that even Italy had not yet caught up with.
Fans who watched this game will remember Dean Richards scoring two tries for Ireland on his debut in 1986, and two years later Chris Oti smashing through the Green defense for a 10-minute hat-trick. I thought of it.
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For them, Martin Johnson's relentless red carpet performance in Dublin in 2003 will remain a heartwarming memory, supplanted by the Grand Slam, perhaps England's greatest performance of the grand tournament.
But the game has long resembled something very different, heavily skewed towards an Irish nation whose professionalism has improved over the years.
The last four games rather summed it up, with England having three players sent off, but Ireland winning 15 tries to 4, winning big.
Perhaps Borthwick's men were tired of attacks that seemed increasingly indifferent to their fate. Or maybe the penny finally dropped in training, where you have to master not only defense, but also attack.
Perhaps it was a little bit of both.
In any case, outside of the first 10 minutes of the game against Scotland, I didn't recognize the England team.
The muddled thinking and flawed execution of the first three rounds gave way to something like clarity and bonding with the team in the away locker room.
It started with England's first attack, George Firbank cutting a wicked diagonal to expose Ireland's right flank, Tommy Freeman running a strong line to beat Calvin Nash, Firbank again onslaught and forced Ollie Lawrence into a corner.
Ireland were not easily swayed but needed the best of Josh van der Flier to keep their lines intact as England quickly hit back.
This was not what the bookmakers were expecting. They foresaw that Ireland would run wild without George Martin and Ollie Chetham flat on the gain line.
They expected the magic to come from Farrell's men rather than England, who brought the energy, innovation, intensity and the kind of stubborn defiance that fans had been waiting for all tournament long.
Lawrence took another chance in the left corner, this time posting a tempting grubber behind the green line. Firbank was instantly on the ball and contested it with Ciaran Frawley, but the ball spilled and the Bath center scored.
England's enterprise deserved a try, but TMO Ben Whitehouse ruled that Firbank had spilled the ball forward, spoiling England's momentum.
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George Ford forced a well-anticipated penalty and Jack Crowley converted a third and fourth to give Ireland the lead at half-time.
They may have thought they would be happy, but Farrell's body language as he exchanged candid words with Borthwick on the way to the changing room betrayed his true mood.
It wasn't immediately obvious when James Rowe dove into the left-hand corner immediately after the restart and expertly touched down with the rest of his body on the other side of the touchline with one hand.
This gave Ireland a nine-point lead and fans were excited about taking home the trophy with the remaining rounds.
However, England refused to accept that theory at all. It didn't look like a nine-point game, and it didn't feel like a one-point game.
Martin and Maro Itoje worked together brilliantly to push Firbank past and restore the lead to four points.
Peter O'Mahony was sent to the sin bin and scrumhalf Jamison Gibson-Park was forced to move to the wing as Ireland's 6-2 bench gamble backfired.
Ben Earl intersection
England were on the back foot and the home side took the lead when Ben Earl got out of a superb Bundy Aki tackle.
Ireland came back and Rowe grabbed their second goal from a weak tackle on Marcus Smith, but England's chances seemed to disappear when Elliot Daly missed a long-range kick.
It might be another day, but not today. Smith stepped up, put his right foot behind him, and the ball went past the post.
So off to Lyon. England face France with five points and the knowledge that Ireland's loss to Scotland could cost them Six Nations glory.
That's extremely unlikely, but that's what happened today.
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