Why England Did Not Feel the Absence of Mike Brown

England’s wait for a first Grand Slam since 2003 goes on. Their victory in Dublin 12 years ago was as comprehensive as Sunday's 19-9 defeat at the hands of Ireland, so well-beaten in every department were Stuart Lancaster’s men.

Twelve months ago, England got the better of Ireland at Twickenham, and man of the match Mike Brown had his best day in an England shirt.

The Harlequin made an acrobatic catch to halt a hack by Brian O’Driscoll in the first half, then went on a scorching run to create a try for Danny Care.

In between, he was brave in the air and strong on the counter.

England could have done with another performance from Brown like that at the weekend, but his concussion against Italy ruled him out, and he was replaced by Saracens Alex Goode.

There are plenty of reasons for England’s defeat on Sunday, but missing Mike Brown was not one of them.

1. In the air

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Ireland went to the air frequently to test England’s back three, and Goode was the only one to prove up to the task, while wings Anthony Watson and Jack Nowell had mixed fortunes dealing with the bombardment.

2. On the counter

Goode had few opportunities to run the ball back, but his one real chance came under terrible pressure when he gathered Jared Payne’s hack behind his own posts. Goode slithered away from Payne and snaked his way out of danger in a classy manner. No danger of Brown’s absence costing England points in a dire situation there.

3. The try

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Goode was the defender Robbie Henshaw out-jumped for his try after Conor Murray posted an inch-perfect kick into the air above the Englishman’s head. This was a case of simple physics. Henshaw had the run on a stationary player and was facing the right way. Goode was standing still and had to almost turn his back to Henshaw to gather the ball. There was only ever going to be one winner, and Brown would have made no difference.

4. The abysmal penalty count

England gave away penalties at the breakdown, were caught offside and were hassled into more errors from an intense, lightning-fast Irish defensive line. Alex Goode had nothing to do with those instances, and Mike Brown would not have been able to change things either.

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5. Kicking

Here is one area Brown might have made a difference, but only because he has a huge left boot. Goode’s kicking improved as the game went on, and he was not responsible for points scored as a result of bad exit kicks.