A sluggish opening, allied to occasional but costly lapses in concentration, conspired to undermine Ireland's hopes at Richmond in yesterday's competitive and fluid A international. Both sides sought to put the ball through the hands in near perfect conditions.

Consolation came in the form of several outstanding individual performances, most notably Barry Everitt, Trevor Brennan and Gavin Walsh: there were sundry other fine displays, from Mervyn Murphy, Dion O'Cuinneagain, Gabriel Fulcher and Niall Woods, who contributed 15 points, having been introduced prior to the start of the match in place of influenza victim Darragh O'Mahony.

Ireland produced three classic tries, but a facility for stupidity and carelessness in possession was equally apparent, and the home side were gifted two tries.

Everitt was central to his side's best moments. The Garryowen out-half varied his game superbly, making a couple of fine breaks, kicking intelligently and distributing with assurance. It was an auspicious debut for the 22-year-old.

St Mary's College flanker Brennan grasped this belated opportunity with both hands, offering a willing buttress in attack and tackling with his customary ferocity. Only when Anthony Foley was introduced as a second half replacement for Kieron Dawson did Ireland boast an equally abrasive talent.

Walsh got through an enormous work load, and for the first time this season recaptured his form of 12 months ago. He enjoys a fine footballing brain, illustrated through the number of times that he was on hand to support the ball carrier or make big tackles.

Despite cameos from others, Ireland too often handed England possession and territorial dominance through sloppy handling and turnovers. The home side produced a stuttering display, occasionally brilliant but more often overly elaborate. London Irish scrum-half Peter Richards, Ben Sturnham and right wing Spencer Brown all thrived in the lack of structure to the game. England raced into a 15-0 lead, with fullback Tim Stimpson kicking a penalty and a conversion, as Brown and Sturnham crossed for tries. Brown's proved a comedy of error as Stanley McDowell struggled to deal with a speculative chip ahead. In mitigation, the Ballymena man recovered to enjoy a solid afternoon at fullback.

Ireland responded with a Woods penalty before a piece of Everitt virtuosity - he beat three tacklers - set up a try for Mervyn Murphy, which Wood converted. The left wing was similarly accurate when the hard-running John McWeeney profited from a fine Murphy break to coast over.

Stimpson's second penalty left the match perfectly poised, 18-17, at the interval, but England quickly re-asserted their dominance with tries from Rob Fidler, Peter Mensah, Craig Gillies and Josh Lewsey. Outside of two further penalties from Woods, Ireland had to wait until the 75th minute when Everitt ghosted past two tacklers for a fine try.

There was plenty to ponder for watching Irish coach Warren Gatland in the context of the tour to South Africa. Brennan and Everitt certainly availed of the opportunity to impress.

One point from four internationals at this will hardly cause a furrowed brow in the IRFU. Winning is not the sole end product; instead, the A team have offered several players worthy of higher representation, be it for South Africa or next season. That is as it should be.

Scoring sequence: 7 mins: Stimpson penalty, 3-0; 8: Brown try, 8-0; 11: Sturnham try, Stimpson conversion, 15-0; 18: Woods penalty, 15-3; 28: Murphy try, Woods conversion, 15-10; 32: McWeeney try, Woods conversion, 15-17; 35: Stimpson penalty, 18-17; 45: Fidler try, Stimpson conversion, 25-17; 50: Woods penalty, 25-20; 57: Mensah try, 30-20; 60: Woods penalty, 30-23; 63: Gillies try, 35-23; 67: Lewsey try, 40-23; 75: Everitt try, Woods conversion, 40-30.

England A: T Stimpson (Newcastle); S Brown (Richmond), P Mensah (Harlequins), S Ravenscroft (Saracens), D Chapman (Richmond); J Lewsey (Bristol), P Richards (London Irish); D Barnes (Newcastle), P Greening (Gloucester), J Mallett (Bath); R Fidler (Gloucester), C Gillies (Richmond); R Jenkins (Harlequins, capt), B Sturnham (Saracens), R Hutton (Richmond). Replacements: M Cornwell (Gloucester) for Gillies 64 mins; A Bennett (Saracens) for Jenkins 67 mins; W Green (Wasps) for Mallett 67 mins; A King (Wasps) for Stimpson 75 mins; G Chuter (Saracens) for Greening 76 mins; M Allen (Northampton) for Hutton 78 mins.

Ireland A: S McDowell (Ballymena); J McWeeney (St Mary's College), P Duignan (Galwegians), M Murphy (Galwegians), N Woods (London Irish); B Everitt (Garryowen), S McIvor (Garryowen); J Fitzpatrick (London Irish), B Jackman (Clontarf), G Walsh (Garryowen); G Fulcher (London Irish), B Cusack (Bath); T Brennan (St Mary's College), D O'Cuinneagain (Sale), K Dawson (London Irish). Replacements: M McDermott (Shannon) for Jackman 25 mins; A Foley (Shannon) for Dawson 65 mins; D Crotty (Garryowen) for McWeeney 68 mins; S Leahy (Garryowen) for Fulcher 77 mins.

Referee: G Morandin (Italy).