While the world’s greatest annual rugby tournament gets underway in Paris on Friday night, there is no doubt that Ireland’s clash with England is the highlight of the opening weekend.
A fascinating game awaits as the hosts begin their quest for a record third title in a row, while the highly talented English seek to put together a performance and result which banishes the frustrations of 2024.
No team has ever won three in a row during the Six Nations but that is what Simon Easterby’s men could well achieve in mid-March. First of all, they must get past England who certainly have the tools to cause them problems.
It was Steve Borthwick’s outfit who ended their chances of back-to-back Grand Slams when they emerged 23-22 victors at Twickenham last year, but since then it has all gone rather wrong for the head coach and his charges.
The potential is certainly there, with the performances good enough to keep them in the fight against the best teams such as France, the All Blacks and the Springboks, but the results have not been forthcoming.
Borthwick, who is under serious pressure after a pretty dreadful second half of 2024, will hope that changes on Saturday, but it is Ireland who have the experience, confidence and form in their favour. Although the hosts were subpar by their high standards in the Autumn Nations Series, there is continuity on the playing front.
It is only on a coaching level where they have been forced to make a slight change, with Easterby taking over from Andy Farrell, whose attentions are now focused on the British and Irish Lions tour in Australia.
That adds a slight element of uncertainty heading into the 2025 Six Nations, while the age of their squad could also prove to be a weakness this weekend. At the moment, their issues in November remain just a blip but it could become much more than that should the visitors crash the Dublin party.
Ireland currently certainly remain firm favourites but England may well be brewing something special ahead of Saturday, just as they did in 2019.
Where the game will be won
England may well think they can target the scrum with Tadhg Furlong out but that Red Rose set-piece has not been operating particularly efficiently for a while. That is perhaps why Borthwick has targeted the breakdown duel by naming three opensides. It is a risky strategy, one which could expose their lineout against the mass of jumping options at Ireland’s disposal, but it is a move that he hopes will quell the hosts’ attacking threat.
The Red Rose head coach may also be thinking about the 2019 Rugby World Cup semi-final where the All Blacks came with the likes of Brodie Retallick, Sam Whitelock, Scott Barrett, Ardie Savea and Kieran Read in the set-piece, but England concocted a masterful plan to combat it and dominate the lineout with their two jumpers. The forwards coach who was the architect behind that? A certain Borthwick.
If they are able to hold their own in the set-piece, however, then that, combined with their speed to the breakdown, will lay a platform for their kicking game, where they have a couple of elite aerial options in Tommy Freeman and Freddie Steward. Ireland are not exactly lacking in that area either, with Mack Hansen, James Lowe and particularly Hugo Keenan all exceptional under the high ball, but it is a battle the visitors will think they can win.
If so, it rather takes the pressure off their defence, which was rather porous in the Autumn Nations Series. Ireland remain the best team in the world at stringing together multi-phase attacks and they will seek to stress that English rearguard. Although they struggled for fluency last November, they will be confident of breaking down a defence which has been reevaluated following their issues since Felix Jones’ resignation.
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Last time they met
What they said
Scrum-half Jamison Gibson-Park insists that Ireland are not focusing on the history they could make if the team lifts the title once again this season.
No country has won this competition three times in a row since it became the Six Nations at the start of the millennium, but Easterby’s men have a chance of achieving that unique feat.
“I wouldn’t say massive. It’s been mentioned, but we’re pretty week-to-week focused in here,” Gibson-Park said.
“It’s a cliche answer that you’re used to getting but the most important thing is you focus on the game ahead of you and it’s a pretty incredible opportunity to get after so we’ll get stuck in.”
The half-back also discussed the fly-half situation with Sam Prendergast and Jack Crowley battling for the jersey.
It has been hotly debated in the build-up to the Six Nations, but Gibson-Park is not surprised that it has been widely discussed.
“I think it’s pretty much the same in New Zealand, the Dan Carter era,” he said.
“When you think about ROG [Ronan O’Gara] and Sexto [Johnny Sexton], there was Carter and [Andrew] Mehrtens and all these guys so it’s always a big talking point wherever you are really.”
Gibson-Park will hope to have quick ball to work with after England picked three opensides in their backline to combat the Irish attack.
Red Rose boss Borthwick conceded that there is a risk involved with his selection, but he talked up the qualities of Ben Earl and the Curry twins, Tom and Ben.
“Clearly there’s always a blend and always a trade-off of what you decide to do and why you decide to do it,” Borthwick said.
“It is my job to weigh up all those considerations and I am sure Paul O’Connell and the Irish lineout will look at this and try to attack us in that area. We will have to be very good.
“Ben has stepped his game up to the next level. The back row [I have selected] can run. All three players have got incredible engines, incredible mobility, they are fantastic players defensively.
“Their tackling and their jackal, they carry the ball well and if you look at that mix of intensity and work rate playing against an Ireland team, whatever combination they pick in their back-row, they have got world-class players.”
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.
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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.
Prediction
England are nowhere near as bad as their results suggest but, equally, we can’t see them turning up to the Aviva Stadium and causing a shock against the back-to-back defending champions. We’re also not quite sure about that visitors’ back-row, even if they have a back-up plan on the bench. It is a risky call against a team that has such surety and confidence in their game plan, and ultimately Easterby’s men should start the 2025 Six Nations with a win, although it could be pretty close. Ireland by seven points.
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)
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Publish date : 2025-01-31 10:22:41
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