When’s the game?
This Saturday, March 9th, Ireland are in Twickenham to take on England. Kick-off is at 4.45pm
Can I watch?
As always, the Six Nations is on free-to-air television. RTÉ 2 will be your channel of choice in Ireland, ITV in the UK. Radio commentary is also available via RTÉ, while The Irish Times has a liveblog getting under way two hours before kick-off.
England should be tricky, right?
Their form would suggest otherwise, but you’d struggle to find someone who doesn’t believe England could pull off something special at home. That said, Twickenham shouldn’t hold any fear for this Ireland group given they did win there in 2022 on their way to a Triple Crown.
However, Ireland were aided by an English red card that day, as they have been on the last three occasions these teams met.
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There’s no doubt England are a side in transition, still adjusting to head coach Steve Borthwick, given he only took over ahead of last year’s Six Nations. They also have a new defence coach, Felix Jones, who has come straight from South Africa’s World Cup-winning ticket. England’s new blitz defence has at times been effective, but sides have also been able to pick it apart.
Plenty are pointing to Jones’s burgeoning coaching reputation and the fact he had a two-week window as a source of concern; can England use the extended preparation time to conjure up a one-off game plan that catches Ireland on the hop?
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At this stage, your guess is as good as anyone’s. Regardless, Ireland are comfortable favourites with the bookies.
Form guide
England are coming off the back of a demoralising loss to Scotland before the fallow week. They had previously beaten Italy and Wales in tight games to start their campaign. Ireland remain on course for a Grand Slam having beaten France, Italy and Wales.
Ireland have also not lost to England since 2020. They are on a run of four consecutive victories, including three Six Nations games and a World Cup warm-up last summer.
Team news
Hugo Keenan has been restored at fullback for the game against England. Alas for James Ryan, his less than wonderful Championship is over and a cloud also hangs over his post-Six Nations fitness for Leinster after he suffered a bicep injury in training.
Keenan’s return is the only changes to the starting XV from the 31-7 win over Wales, with Ciarán Frawley reverting to the number 23 jersey he wore in the opening win over France in Marseille before marking his full Test debut with a try against the Welsh when deputising for Keenan. Frawley’s versatility has been preferred to the more proven international pedigree of Garry Ringrose.
Steve Borthwick has made three personnel changes to his England side to face Ireland on Saturday, handing Immanuel Feyi-Waboso a first start as well as selecting Alex Mitchell and George Martin. Feyi-Waboso was turning out for Taunton Titans in National League One less than a year ago but has impressed on his two appearances from the bench to date and gets the nod on the left wing. Mitchell returns at scrumhalf after recovering from a knee injury while Martin comes into the side at lock with Ollie Chessum shifting to blindside flanker and Ethan Roots dropping out of the squad.
Ireland's Twickenham Test
Ireland team to play England: Hugo Keenan; Calvin Nash, Robbie Henshaw, Bundee Aki, James Lowe; Jack Crowley, Jamison Gibson-Park; Andrew Porter, Dan Sheehan, Tadhg Furlong; Joe McCarthy, Tadhg Beirne; Peter O’Mahony (capt), Josh van der Flier, Caealan Doris. Replacements: Rónan Kelleher, Cian Healy, Finlay Bealham, Iain Henderson, Ryan Baird, Jack Conan, Conor Murray, Ciarán Frawley.
England team to play Ireland: George Furbank; Immanuel Feyi-Waboso, Henry Slade, Ollie Lawrence, Tommy Freeman; George Ford, Alex Mitchell; Ellis Genge, Jamie George (capt), Dan Cole; Maro Itoje, George Martin; Ollie Chessum, Sam Underhill, Ben Earl. Replacements: Theo Dan, Joe Marler, Will Stuart, Chandler Cunningham-South, Alex Bombrandt, Danny Care, Marcus Smith, Elliot Daly.
