An epic Round 1 clash between Ireland and England will take place at the Aviva Stadium in Dublin on 1st February.
Reigning champions Ireland will look to secure a strong start under interim head coach Simon Easterby, while England aim to repeat their 2024 triumph when they secured a last-minute victory over the men in green at the Allianz Stadium.
Head-to-head
Ireland and England have met on 142 occasions, with England claiming 81 victories to Ireland’s 53 (and eight draws).
Recent history between these two sides has been closely contested. In their most recent encounter during the 2024 Six Nations, England emerged victorious in a dramatic finish in London, with Marcus Smith’s late drop goal denying Ireland a second successive Grand Slam. This was first time this fixture had been won by the team who trailed at the break since the 1996 Five Nations (England 28-15 Ireland).
However, prior to that, Ireland had dominated the encounter, winning four consecutive fixtures with commanding performances.
Ireland’s overall form at home is formidable, and the Aviva Stadium has often been a fortress for them.
Both teams stuttered in their Autumn Nations Series campaigns last year, but this match represents an opportunity to start 2025 with a major scalp.
Form Guide
The defending champions head into the tournament with high expectations but face questions about their consistency following a mixed Autumn Nations Series.
Simon Easterby’s side – on an interim basis, at least – suffered a disappointing defeat to New Zealand and laboured to narrow victories against Australia and Argentina, raising concerns about a potential decline in their dominance. Former England international Austin Healey said: “In the autumn I went to every one of those games and if I had been on the opposition facing them now in the next game, I wouldn’t have the same fear factor.”
Never miss a moment: Sync your calendar with Six Nations Rugby fixtures
Nevertheless, Ireland possesses an experienced squad, led by the talismanic Caelan Doris, and will be motivated to start their campaign with a statement win at home.
England’s fortunes have been on the rise under Steve Borthwick, who continues to reshape his squad. Last year’s Six Nations campaign showed moments of promise, but inconsistency proved their downfall. They ended 2024 on a high note, though, with a strong performance against Japan in the Autumn Nations Series.
Maro Itoje’s elevation to full-time captain will be a focal point for the visitors. His leadership, alongside the creativity of Marcus Smith at fly-half and the physicality of Ollie Chessum in the pack, will be pivotal as England seek to upset the champions in their own backyard. England’s squad has also been bolstered by the return of Alex Mitchell at scrum-half, adding further dynamism to their backline options.
Team News
Ireland
Tadhg Furlong has been ruled out of the opening week’s game after suffering a recurrence of a calf strain in training on Saturday and he has returned to Dublin for further assessment. Ireland will issue an update later in the week. Connacht’s Jack Aungier has been called up to the squad. Leinster trio Jack Boyle, James Lowe and Dan Sheehan linked up with the Ireland squad on Sunday morning, while Connacht scrum-half Caolin Blade will also arrive on Monday.
England
Maro Itoje takes over as captain from Jamie George, bringing his unique leadership style to a group looking to make a statement in Dublin. Scrum-half Alex Mitchell is set to be fit for England’s Six Nations meeting with Ireland in Dublin on Saturday. England boss Borthwick was hit by a string of withdrawals at the start of last week, with Jamie George, Alex Coles, Alex Dombrandt and Jack van Poortvliet all dropping out of the squad.
Stats dive
Both teams have historically made a strong start in the Guinness Men’s Six Nations: each nation boasts a 72% win rate, winning 18 Round 1 fixtures, which is more than any other side in the Championship.
The Aviva Stadium has become a fortress for Ireland in recent years as they have lost just two of their last 29 home fixtures in the Guinness Men’s Six Nations (W25D2), a run stretching back to the end of the 2013 campaign. However, one of their two defeats in that run came against England in their opening game of the Championship in 2019 (also v France in 2021).
Team-by-team guide
England have trailed at half time in each of their five matches in last year’s Guinness Men’s Six Nations, the first time they’ve trailed at the break in every match of a campaign since the 1974 Five Nations. But they won three of those matches, and no side has ever recorded as many second-half comebacks in an edition of the Championship.
Both team like attack, with both making 48 attacking 22 entries n the 2024 Guinness Men’s Six Nations, the most of any side in last year’s championship, however, England scored the fewest points per entry of any team (2.1), while Ireland scored the second (2.8) behind Scotland (2.9).
Players to watch
There is only one place to start and that is at fly-half where Sam Prendergast gets his chance ahead of the unfortunate Crowley. After usurping the Munsterman in the Autumn Nations Series, the youngster took that form into the Champions Cup, while Crowley rather wilted. However, the 25-year-old, who is on the bench for Saturday’s game, enjoyed an upturn in performances, impressing against Saracens and Northampton Saints in Europe.
In truth, Crowley is the more accomplished playmaker at the moment but there is probably more upside to Prendergast, who has appeared the long-term heir to previous fly-half Johnny Sexton since he shone at U20 level. The 21-year-old is an excellent kicker, both out of hand and off the tee, while his decision-making is impressive for someone so inexperienced, but he needs to get flatter to the line as both Leinster’s and Ireland’s attack has suffered as a result.
He won’t be helped either by the injury to Joe McCarthy, who offers something very different to the Ireland pack. McCarthy has that sheer physicality with ball in hand which allows him to dominate the gain line and garner front foot ball for Ireland. With him out, Easterby has shifted Tadhg Beirne to lock and brought the athletic Ryan Baird into the back-row. As a result, Beirne will probably need to take on extra work with ball in hand.
Ireland team winners and losers: Simon Easterby backs ‘immaculate’ Sam Prendergast as legendary forward falls ‘victim’ to incredible positional depth
As for England, Maro Itoje goes into his first game as captain knowing that his responsibility is increased due to Borthwick’s back-row selection. Itoje will lead the lineout and hope that he can get a good connection established with hooker Luke Cowan-Dickie, who deputises for the injured former skipper Jamie George. It is the big area of concern for the visitors and one where those two will need to step up.
Behind the scrum, the return of Alex Mitchell is a huge boost for the Red Rose. As well as the speed and tempo he brings around the breakdown, the scrum-half has improved his kicking game significantly and he will look to find his range to allow Freeman, Steward and debutant Cadan Murley to put pressure on the Irish back three.
Hopefully, they will also get opportunities to get their hands on the ball, especially Murley, who is both quick and strong. Injury has deprived the Harlequins star from making his Test bow but the 25-year-old is a very talented player and it will be interesting to see how he goes on debut.
Main head-to-head
The talk of the town after Borthwick announced his team on Tuesday was Tom Curry, Ben Curry and Ben Earl being named in the back-row. It is a fascinating decision and clearly shows their intention to go hard at the contact area and disrupt Ireland’s flow, but it could well backfire. It is the first time the Curry twins will start together at international level and it is particularly deserved for Ben, who has been exceptional for Sale Sharks this season.
As already mentioned, Borthwick understands the risk involved against Ireland’s jumper-laden back five. On the face of it, Ryan Baird, Josh van der Flier and Caelan Doris looks a more balanced trio. Doris and Van der Flier always dovetail nicely for both province and country, but Baird has been brought in to act as that hybrid lock/flanker, where his height and athleticism will help in the lineout.
The flanker’s international game time has mainly been limited to bench appearances over the past 12 months, but he memorably filled in against England in 2023 and starred in the Grand Slam triumph. Baird will hope to do so again and use his height and athleticism to great effect to put that English set-piece under significant duress, while he may also have plenty of ball-carrying responsibility.
Previous results
2024: England won 23-22 in London
2023: Ireland won 29-10 in Dublin
2023: Ireland won 29-16 in Dublin
2022: Ireland won 32-15 in London
2021: Ireland won 32-18 in Dublin
2020: England won 18-7 in London
2020: England won 24-12 in London
2019: England won 57-15 in London
2019: England won 32-20 in Dublin
2018: Ireland won 24-15 in London
The teams
Ireland: 15 Hugo Keenan, 14 Mack Hansen, 13 Garry Ringrose, 12 Bundee Aki, 11 James Lowe, 10 Sam Prendergast, 9 Jamison Gibson-Park, 8 Caelan Doris (c), 7 Josh van der Flier, 6 Ryan Baird, 5 Tadhg Beirne, 4 James Ryan, 3 Finlay Bealham, 2 Rónan Kelleher, 1 Andrew Porter
Replacements: 16 Dan Sheehan, 17 Cian Healy, 18 Thomas Clarkson, 19 Iain Henderson, 20 Jack Conan, 21 Conor Murray, 22 Jack Crowley, 23 Robbie Henshaw
England: 15 Freddie Steward, 14 Tommy Freeman, 13 Ollie Lawrence, 12 Henry Slade, 11 Cadan Murley, 10 Marcus Smith, 9 Alex Mitchell, 8 Ben Earl, 7 Ben Curry, 6 Tom Curry, 5 George Martin, 4 Maro Itoje (c), 3 Will Stuart, 2 Luke Cowan-Dickie, 1 Ellis Genge,
Replacements: 16 Theo Dan, 17 Fin Baxter, 18 Joe Heyes, 19 Ollie Chessum, 20 Chandler Cunningham-South, 21 Tom Willis, 22 Harry Randall, 23 Fin Smith
Date: Saturday, February 1
Venue: The Aviva Stadium, Dublin
Kick-off: 16:45 GMT
Referee: Ben O’Keeffe (New Zealand)
Assistant referees: James Doleman (New Zealand), Hollie Davidson (Scotland)
TMO: Glenn Newman (New Zealand)
