England v Ireland: Six Nations rugby union – live | Six Nations 2026
Key occasions
18 minutes. The ball is quickly again in English fingers, with extra pleasure coming from robust carries from the forwards facilitated by quick ruck ball. Genge is once more distinguished, shifting them as much as the 5m line. Ford pops a cross to the prop as soon as extra, but it surely’s not correct sufficient and goes unfastened to Lowe who boots it up the sector and promptly collapses in ache.
He’s off, changed by Tommy O’Brien.
16 minutes. Ireland have the ball out and in shortly, however within the quick time that was taking place Genge forces a collapse from his reverse quantity. Not that this issues an amazing deal as Ford shanks his kick touch-in-goal and ruins the penalty platform. Usually Engalnd’s banker, he isn’t having an amazing recreation in any respect.
15 minutes. Play is trapped within the center third as each groups have some possession that they work via fingers; some high drawer dealing with from each groups below stress. Ireland have a glimpse of an opportunity to seek out Lowe, however the lengthy cross from McCloskey is yoked from the air by Freeman. A couple of phases later one other English dealing with error provides a scrum to Ireland on the midway line.
12 minutes. A stable set of phases lastly from England, and their energy begins to indicate via a Pollock carry, then extra from Lawrence and Genge to maneuver as much as the 5m line. They transfer the ball to the left, but it surely breaks down within the 13 channel and is hacked away by Balacoune, rolling into contact on the 10m line.
10 minutes. Ford misses contact with a penalty that he despatched deep in direction of Ireland’s proper nook. That’s yet one more mistake on this poor begin from England. However they quickly have the ball again from Osborne’s clearing kick.
PENALTY! England 0 – 3 Ireland (Jack Crowley)
8 minutes. Another mangled possession from England as McCarthy storms via the lineout maul and rips the ball. Gibson-Park has a touch up the center that forces the house protection offside. There’s nothing approaching the benefit and Crowley decides to cement the early benefit for his group onto the scoreboard.
6 minutes. The scrum varieties, and for a second it seems England are about to be shoved backwards, but it surely wheels and Ref Piardi decides it is on account of Loughman strolling round on the unfastened head facet. Penalty England, which is cleared to the touch by Ford.
4 minutes. An anticlimax for all involved because the scrum ends earlier than it begins with England pinged for early engagement. Gibson-Park faucets it shortly and finds contact in English territory that comes again on the inexperienced facet after Cowan-Dickie cannot discover his lineout goal. Mainly as a result of none of his gamers bothered leaping! What a multitude.
The ball is moved left in direction of Lowe’s wing by way of Sheehan lurking within the 13 channel, but it surely’s Ireland’s flip to spill the ball ahead. England have a scrum close to their very own 5m line.
2 minutes. The clearing kick from Ireland is returned by England with some carries as much as the Irish 22. Ford floats a cross-kick to the correct touchline the place Steward claims it, however he is shortly wrapped up by Lowe and two phases later a knock-on in midfield fingers a scrum to the guests.
First check for what has been a really creaky Irish scrum within the match to date.
Kick Off!
George Ford places his foot via it and we’re off and working
Officials at this time
Referee: Andrea Piardi (Italy)
Assistant Referee 1: Pierre Brousset (France)
Assistant Referee 2: Gianluca Gnecchi (Italy)
Television Match Official (TMO): Matteo Liperini (Italy)
Maro Itoje takes an enormous ovation from his house crowd as he enters the world alone on the event of his one centesimal look. The groups emerge quickly after into an overcast however nonetheless very afternoon in south west London; the circumstances are perfect for rugby.
It’s England captain Maro Itoje’s one centesimal cap at this time, his newest look in a superb profession. At 31 years of age you think about there are lots extra caps to come back so as to add extra luster to his already achieved England all-time nice standing.
Henry Pollock begins his first worldwide recreation at this time, and Rob Kitson has ideas on it.
And the dropping altogether of Sam Prendergast is given some historic context right here by Brendan Fanning
You can ship me all of your ideas on proceedings each previous to an through the match by way of the e-mail. I stay up for studying them.
Team information
Changes galore, and notable ones at that, throughout each matchday squads.
Steve Borthwick fingers fan and media darling (and bloody good participant) Henry Pollock his first begin within the again row, the place he might be joined by the returning Tom Curry. In the backs Tommy Freeman returns to a wing berth on the expense of Tom Roebuck, which brings Ollie Lawrence again into the centres. The bench is at 6:2, with Jack Van Poortvliet and Marcus Smith because the backs choices.
For Ireland, Andy Farrell has determined his favourite youngster Sam Prendergast isn’t for this fixture and is disregarded of a matchday squad for the primary time since his debut in November 2024. Whatever your opinion of his skills, this have to be extremely robust for the younger bloke. Jack Crowley returns to the beginning 10 shirt and he’ll line up alongside Jamison Gibson-Park to marshall a backline that retains Rob Balacoune and James Lowe on the wings. Josh Van Der Flier is again at openside, and a late harm to Jack Conan promoted Cian Prendergast to a 5:3 bench that has Ciaran Frawley as out-half cowl.
Teams
england
Freddie Stewart; Tommy Freeman, Ollie Lawrence, Fraser Dingwall, Henry Arundell; George Ford, Alex Mitchell; Ellis Genge, Luke Cowan-Dickie, Joe Heyes; Maro Itoje, Ollie Chessum; Tom Curry, Ben Earl, Henry Pollock.
Replacements: Jamie George, Bevan Rodd, Trevor Davison, Alex Coles, Guy Pepper, Sam Underhill, Jack van Poortvliet, Marcus Smith.
Ireland
Jamie Osborne Robert Baloucoune, Garry Ringrose, Stuart McCloskey, James Lowe; Jack Crowley, Jamison Gibson-Park; Jeremy Loughman, Dan Sheehan, Tadhg Furlong; Joe McCarthy, James Ryan; Tadhg Beirne, Josh van der Flier, Caelan Doris.
Replacements: Ronan Kelleher, Tom O’Toole, Finlay Bealham, Nick Timoney, Cian Prendergast, Craig Casey, Ciaran Frawley, Tommy O’Brien.
Preamble
“Ever get the feeling you’ve been cheated?” have been the parting phrases of John Lydon on the final ever Sex Pistols gig in 1977, earlier than the lead singer moved on to his lengthy fermentation right into a center England MAGA muppet. Fans of each these groups could also be asking themselves some model of the identical query.
England’s crowd should surprise what’s the actuality of their facet. Are they the group of twelve undefeated matches and months and the rising confidence it introduced, or that which seemed so very second greatest at Murrayfield final week?
And what are Ireland’s followers to make of a head coach that delivered their best moments, however seems to have both no discernible plan for a way his facet transitions into a more recent period, nor a countenance that implies he is relaxed about it. Is Andy Farrell as nice as beforehand thought when he cannot even be coherent about who ought to play 10?
With each groups taking the sector at this time on the identical file of taking part in two, shedding one within the match, a win at this time is a sensible requirement to maneuver in direction of a preferable ending place in mid March. Wider than that there’s some drifting to be arrested. England must consign the loss to Scotland into the “blip” column, whereas Ireland should regulate their transfer in direction of dropping out of the highest 5 on the earth rankings by way of a efficiency that demonstrates this isn’t as inevitable because it feels after two rounds.
Come the top, no person may very well really feel cheated, however somebody will certainly really feel defeated. Find out who with me over the following few hours.
