As it happenedended1582477681

England vs Ireland result: Irish Grand Slam dream ends as hosts deliver dominant victory

Re-live the action from the final Six Nations clash of the weekend at Twickenham

Jack de Menezes
Twickenham
Sunday 23 February 2020 18:00 GMT
Comments
England vs Ireland Six Nations preview

Follow the latest updates live from Twickenham as England take on Ireland with their Six Nations championship hopes on the line.

Ireland arrive in London with two wins from two after seeing off Scotland and Wales, but face their toughest ask yet as they travel away from home for the first time to face an England side that got back to winning ways against Scotland last time out following the opening defeat against France – who are now favourites for the Six Nations title after their stunning win over Wales yesterday.

England boss Eddie Jones has made four personnel changes for the match, with Manu Tuilagi returning from injury and shifting Jonathan Joseph out to the wing for the first time as Elliot Daly moves to full-back, while Joe Marler, Courtney Lawes and Ben Youngs also return. Ireland meanwhile are forced into one change as Iain Henderson misses out following the birth of his son, with Devin Toner coming into the starting XV. Follow the live action below.

When is it?

England vs Ireland takes place on Sunday 23 February at Twickenham Stadium.

What time does it start?

The match kicks off at 3pm GMT.

Where can I watch it?

The match will be shown live on ITV from 2:10pm. Live coverage will also be shown online on the ITV Hub.

Highlights will be shown on BBC Two from 6pm.

Teams

England: Elliot Daly; Jonny May, Manu Tuilagi, Owen Farrell, Jonathan Joseph; George Ford, Ben Youngs; Joe Marler, Jamie George, Kyle Sinckler; Maro Itoje, George Kruis; Courtney Lawes, Sam Underhill, Tom Curry.

Replacements: Luke Cowan-Dickie, Ellis Genge, Will Stuart, Joe Launchbury, Charlie Ewels, Ben Earl, Willi Heinz, Henry Slade.

Ireland: Jordan Larmour; Andrew Conway, Robbie Henshaw, Bundee Aki, Jacob Stockdale; Johnny Sexton, Conor Murray; Cian Healy, Rob Herring, Tadhg Furlong; Devin Toner, James Ryan; Peter O’Mahony, Josh van der Flier, CJ Stander.

Replacements: Ronan Kelleher, Dave Kilcoyne, Andrew Porter, Ultan Dillane, Caelan Doris, John Cooney, Ross Byrne, Keith Earls.

Odds

England to win: 4/9

Ireland to win: 5/2

Draw: 25/1

Prediction

England 22-17 Ireland: There haven’t been many one-sided results so far this tournament and, with bad weather predicted once again this weekend, expect more of the same. The Twickenham factor should prove beneficial to England given what they did to Ireland here last August, and with Manu Tuilagi and Henry Slade back, the hosts seem to have a confidence about them this week that they have lacked this championship.

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Welcome to The Independent's live coverage of today's Six Nations encounter between England and Ireland as we bring you the latest updates from pitchside to wrap up the round three weekend.

England head into the contest as slight favourites despite Ireland looking to keep pace with France in the race for the Grand Slam, having won both of their opening games so far. Both teams have been forced into changes due to injury or absentees, but they are largely made up of the same players who featured in this fixture last year when England claimed a rare away win in Dublin.

Kick-off is scheduled for 3pm, with our full build up getting underway from 1:30pm.

Jack de Menezes23 February 2020 10:56
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The heavens have opened above Twickenham and England must be wondering what they've got to do to get a dry game of rugby this championship, having battled atrocious conditions in both Paris and Edinburgh so far this campaign.

That could well be why Eddie Jones has loaded his side with forwards once again, with a six-two split among the replacements and no fewer than five locks in the matchday 23.

Ireland themselves will be no stranger to the weather conditions though, but it could mean this one becomes a much tighter affair than initially anticipated.

Jack de Menezes23 February 2020 13:33
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With around 90 minutes to go until kick-off, we won't know the confirmed teams for a while yet, but here's how they're slated to line up today:

England: Elliot Daly; Jonny May, Manu Tuilagi, Owen Farrell, Jonathan Joseph; George Ford, Ben Youngs; Joe Marler, Jamie George, Kyle Sinckler; Maro Itoje, George Kruis; Courtney Lawes, Sam Underhill, Tom Curry.

Replacements: Luke Cowan-Dickie, Ellis Genge, Will Stuart, Joe Launchbury, Charlie Ewels, Ben Earl, Willi Heinz, Henry Slade.

Ireland: Jordan Larmour; Andrew Conway, Robbie Henshaw, Bundee Aki, Jacob Stockdale; Johnny Sexton, Conor Murray; Cian Healy, Rob Herring, Tadhg Furlong; Devin Toner, James Ryan; Peter O’Mahony, Josh van der Flier, CJ Stander.

Replacements: Ronan Kelleher, Dave Kilcoyne, Andrew Porter, Ultan Dillane, Caelan Doris, John Cooney, Ross Byrne, Keith Earls.

Jack de Menezes23 February 2020 13:35
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Eddie Jones has certainly been at the forefront of the build up this week.

The Australian put himself up for every day of media duty bar one over the course of the two-week break between the Scotland and Ireland games, and it did not pass without controversy when the Australian managed to accuse one reporter of racism through an innocent question last Thursday.

Thankfully he apologised for his comments, but it was his words on Friday that proved the more intriguing, given he has a belief that the future of rugby will see the emergence of "hybrid" forwards who are capable of playing full-time in the backs.

Needless to say, it raised a few eyebrows.

Jack de Menezes23 February 2020 13:58
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The two teams have arrived at Twickenham, with the two captains and rival fly-halves leading them in through the Rose and Poppy Gate.

Jack de Menezes23 February 2020 14:07
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Confirmation that there are no changes to the line-ups as they were announced.

Jack de Menezes23 February 2020 14:16
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Both teams have plenty of threats across the board this afternoon, but the two key players can be located in the same position. Still on the younger side of their respective careers, Maro Itoje and James Ryan have come to define the standard set for each of their teams, so much so that even their own head coach's acknowledge that they are pivotal to their hopes of victory today.

Here's how the two potential greats stack up:

Jack de Menezes23 February 2020 14:20
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The heavy rain that hit Twickenham about an hour ago has cleared substantially to leave beautiful clear skies above and a rather warm day. The pitch is looking in rather good shape right now all things considered, though it will have benefitted massively of not having any rugby played on it during Storm Ciara and Dennis over the last fortnight.

Hopefully that should encourage the type of rugby we know these two sides are both capable of.

Jack de Menezes23 February 2020 14:34
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Caption competition...

Jack de Menezes23 February 2020 14:39
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After all the controversy surrounding George Furbank's non-selection this weekend, the full-back is out there with the rest of the squad warming up as on of England's travelling reserves.

Initially Eddie Jones claimed that Furbank was not fit for selection after struggling with a persistent groin issue, but with Ollie Thorley sent back to Gloucester this weekend, it quickly transpired that left Furbank as the only injury cover for the backs.

Unsurprisingly, he looks to be moving freely, and you've got to think it was all a cover up to prevent the headlines of the youngster being dropped.

Jack de Menezes23 February 2020 14:48

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