Ireland tore into England in a pulsating first-half, taking a five-nil and retiring at the break five-seven behind.
Considering Ireland were beaten by 78 points last season, there were definite signs that this is a team improving quickly and fast becoming tough to play against.
England would go on to pull away, ultimately winning 49-5 but there will be optimism that they are going in the right direction.
Here is how the players rated.
Player Ratings
Stacey Flood - Kept her eye on the money pass, making a try-saving tackle at the start of the second-half. Full-back whose sense of positioning has been improving exponentially. 7
Anna McGann - Ireland first-half was a defensive masterclass but not so much in the second as an early yellow card was exploited by England who got numbers into wide channels. 6
Aoife Dalton - Won't enjoy the Monday review of a careless offside that gave England a penalty 50 yards back up the field and from which 5-0 became 5-7. Combative all through. 7
Eve Higgins - Following up on one of her best displays last time out, putting in another quality shift in defence. Vital turnover early in the second-half relieved an incredibly stressful situation. 7
Amee Leigh Costigan - Captain in the absence of the injured Edel McMahon and set the Cork stadium alight with the opening try, racing onto an O'Brien kick though to gather and score. 8
READ MORE: Stacey Flood: the rise and rise of women's sport in Ireland continues -
READ MORE: Costigan, King, Jones, Wafer, Parsons, Bemand - Ireland rugby plan coming good
Dannah O'Brien - Poor crosskick on advantage, try-saving tackle early on, great penalty to touch and outstanding chip through for Costigan to score. Taken in on the hour for Fowley. 8
Emily Lane - Game plan leaves all tactical kicking to the out-half, eschewing the box-kicking option. It is limiting, making Ireland more predictable but plays to O'Brien/Fowley's strengths. 6
Niamh O'Dowd
- Scrum conceded a worrying two early penalties and there was little improvement as the half progressed. Referee lost patience early in second-half and yellow-carded O'Dowd. 6Neve Jones
- Bundle of energy in attack and defence, posting 13 tackles, her ability on both sides of the ball is noteworthy. Coming in, Moloney's arrival helped with the scrum problems. 7Linda Djougang - Ever-eager, six carries in 70 minutes. Part of the troubled scrum in the first instance but then held her own with the arrival of Moloney/MCarthy. Called ashore 10 minutes from time. 8
Fiona Tuite - Hard working day at the heart of a pack that was put through the wringer for the entire game. As with her teammates, first-half effort left very little in the tank for the second-half. 7
Dorothy Wall - Huge shift in defence and, converted from back-row, makes for quite the busy second-row. Always looking to be involved and exploit opportunities to disrupt and harass. 8
Brittany Hogan - The Ulster girl is an interesting addition to the back-row, a demon at rucks, physical and all-action. Players hit by Hogan tended to stay hit. 8
Erin King - Looked to ship an early knock and had, by her standards, a quiet opening half. Did best work when the game opened up in the second-half. Foiled a four-on-one try opportunity at one point. 7
Aoife Wafer - Ever-reliable at the back of a scrum experiencing big difficulties, there was something pretty remarkable about watching her come up off the back and smash into the opposition defence. 8
Replacements: Cliodhna Moloney 7, Siobhan McCarthy 6, Christy Haney 6, Ruth Campbell n/a, Grace Moore 5, Aoibheann Reilly 5, Nicolee Fowley 6, Vicky Elmes Kinlan 5.
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