England vs Ireland live: Six Nations rivals meet in must-win clash to keep title hopes alive
England captain Maro Itoje wins his 100th cap as they bid to bounce back from defeat to Scotland
England and Ireland meet in a must-win Six Nations clash as each looks to keep their title hopes alive.
The hosts’ 12-match winning run was brought shuddering to a halt on their latest off-day at Murrayfield last weekend, with defeat to Scotland ending their grand slam chances. Steve Borthwick has challenged his side to respond to a performance that fell below the levels shown over the last year, and England can ill-afford to lose again with tricky trips to Rome and Paris still to come in this campaign. Will they have cause to celebrate Maro Itoje’s 100th cap and a first start for Henry Pollock properly?
Ireland, beaten by France on the opening night, were given a mighty fright in Dublin by Italy, and it was a win that contained as many worries as positives. A switch at fly half, where Jack Crowley starts, perhaps reflects a team in transition, though there is heaps of talent and experience within Andy Farrell’s selection as they seek a big away success.
Follow all of the latest from Twickenham’s Allianz Stadium with our live blog below:
How the Henry Pollock factor could help England bounce back against Ireland
A first start for Henry Pollock comes with plenty of anticipation here at Twickenham, with plenty of headbands among his legion of young fans around the ground. Earlier this week, Steve Borthwick recalled his first memories of a teenage talent with a real steeliness who feels ready for this opportunity:
How the Henry Pollock factor could help England bounce back against Ireland
Scrum battle in focus
The return of Tadhg Furlong to the Irish starting side comes with the visitors in need of improvement after some frailties were shown up in striking fashion by Italy. England have been going well in that area, though:
What is wrong with Ireland’s scrum and how can England exploit it?
Team news - Ireland
Jack Crowley starts at fly half for Ireland with Sam Prendergast left out of the matchday squad entirely after a difficult day against Italy. Experienced figures Tadhg Furlong, Tadhg Beirne, Josh van der Flier and Jamison Gibson-Park all return to the starting side, while Garry Ringrose is fit to feature despite an injury scare last week and resumes his midfield partnership with Stuart McCloskey.
Somewhat surprisingly, there are just five forwards on the bench with no place for last week’s debutant Edwin Edogbo or Cormac Izuchukwu, impressive on the flank. Ciaran Frawley provides fly half, centre and full-back cover with Tommy O’Brien a wing option among the replacements.
There is a late change, too - Cian Prendergast steps in for an ill Jack Conan
Ireland XV: 1 Jeremy Loughman, 2 Dan Sheehan, 3 Tadhg Furlong; 4 Joe McCarthy, 5 James Ryan; 6 Tadhg Beirne, 7 Josh van der Flier, 8 Caelan Doris (capt.); 9 Jamison Gibson-Park, 10 Jack Crowley; 11 James Lowe, 12 Stuart McCloskey, 13 Garry Ringrose, 14 Robert Baloucoune; 15 Jamie Osborne.
Replacements: 16 Ronan Kelleher, 17 Tom O’Toole, 18 Finlay Bealham, 19 Nick Timoney, 20 Cian Prendergast; 21 Craig Casey, 22 Ciaran Frawley, 23 Tommy O’Brien.
Team news - England
Henry Pollock will make his first Test start for England as part of a reshuffled back row that also includes Tom Curry, similarly promoted from the bench. With Pollock at No 8, Ben Earl slides across the openside, while there is a positional switch in the backline, too: Tommy Freeman moves out to the wing and Ollie Lawrence is brought into midfield.
Captain Maro Itoje will win his 100th cap for his country, becoming the ninth Englishman to reach the mark. Jack van Poortvliet and Marcus Smith provide backline cover on a six/two bench.
England XV: 1 Ellis Genge, 2 Luke Cowan-Dickie, 3 Joe Heyes; 4 Maro Itoje (capt.), 5 Ollie Chessum; 6 Tom Curry, 7 Ben Earl, 8 Henry Pollock; 9 Alex Mitchell, 10 George Ford; 11 Henry Arundell, 12 Fraser Dingwall, 13 Ollie Lawrence, 14 Tommy Freeman; 15 Freddie Steward.
Replacements: 16 Jamie George, 17 Bevan Rodd, 18 Trevor Davison, 19 Alex Coles, 20 Guy Pepper, 21 Sam Underhill; 22 Jack van Poortvliet, 23 Marcus Smith.
Six Nations 2026 schedule in full: Fixtures and results
Need a reminder of all the Six Nations action so far and the fixtures to come in this campaign? We’ve got you covered.
Six Nations 2026 schedule in full: Fixtures and results
England's Tommy Freeman ‘struggled without realising it’ after Lions tour
England‘s Tommy Freeman has revealed that an intervention from his Northampton coaches helped him through a slump following the British and Irish Lions tour.
Freeman started all three Tests in the 2-1 series victory over Australia that concluded on August 2 – alongside Maro Itoje and Tom Curry one of only three Englishman to do so – and still felt the effects when the new season began.
While physically he was recharged by the mandatory five-week rest period that followed the tour, Northampton director of rugby Phil Dowson and head coach Sam Vesty spotted that his “mental state wasn’t in the best spot”.
A reduction in training and matches enabled the 24-year-old to negotiate the early part of 2025-26 and he went on to take part in England’s autumn campaign until he was affected by a hamstring niggle.
England centre Tommy Freeman ‘struggled without realising it’ after Lions tour
Andy Farrell hits out at Irish ‘keyboard warriors’ in emotional defence of Sam Prendergast
Andy Farrell had last week issued a strong criticism of what he described as “keyboard warriors” around the Sam Prendergast/Jack Crowley debate.
Andy Farrell hits out at ‘keyboard warriors’ in emotional defence of Sam Prendergast
Andy Farrell throws his support behind Ireland star targeted by ‘disgusting’ racist abuse
Having left Edwin Edogbo out of his matchday 23, Andy Farrell also had a message of support for the lock.
Farrell throws his support behind Ireland star targeted by ‘disgusting’ racist abuse
Maro Itoje sounds warning over ‘corrosive’ impacts of social media after racist abuse of Ireland lock Edwin Edogbo
More depressingly, Maro Itoje also spoke powerfully this week about racism and the dangers of social media following the abuse suffered by Edwin Edogbo, the Ireland lock, after his debut last weekend.
Itoje laments ‘sad’ racist abuse of Ireland lock and sounds warning over social media
The statistics and stories that show Maro Itoje’s brilliance as England captain reaches century of caps
It will be a special day, meanwhile, for Maro Itoje as he becomes the ninth Englishman to hit 100 caps. Itoje will be sporting special boots for the occasion, and shared a few favourite memories from down the years this week.
The statistics that show Maro Itoje’s brilliance as England captain wins 100th cap
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments
Bookmark popover
Removed from bookmarks