What date and time is the match?
This forthcoming Saturday, March 9th, sees Ireland clashing with England in Twickenham. The game is set to commence at a quarter to five in the afternoon.
Is it possible to view the match?
Of course, you can catch the Six Nations matches on freeview television as usual. For viewers in Ireland, RTÉ 2 is the go-to station; ITV will broadcast the match in the UK. If you prefer listening, you can tune into radio commentary from RTÉ. Additionally, The Irish Times will initiate a liveblog two hours prior to the game.
Is England expected to be a challenging opponent?
Despite their current performance, it’s hard to find anyone who doesn’t acknowledge that England could turn things around on their home ground. However, the Irish team shouldn’t feel intimidated by Twickenham, having won there in 2022 en route to the Triple Crown.
Nevertheless, it’s worth mentioning that an English red card favoured Ireland that day, as it has in the previous three encounters between the teams.
Notably, England is a team amidst changes, reconfiguring under the direction of new head coach Steve Borthwick, who only assumed the role before last year’s Six Nations. The team has a new defence coach as well, Felix Jones, freshly associated from South Africa’s World Cup champions. The new aggressive defence approach deployed by England has demonstrated success in some instances, but it has also shown vulnerabilities.
Several are directing attention towards Jones’s growing prestige as a coach and the concern that he had a fortnight to devise a unique game strategy that could surprise Ireland.
Ultimately, it’s anybody’s guess at the moment. Regardless, the odds from the bookmakers align in favour of Ireland.
How have the teams been performing?
England is bouncing back from a disheartening defeat to Scotland preceding the week of rest. Before this, they managed narrow victories over Italy and Wales. Ireland continues their quest for the Grand Slam after triumphs over France, Italy and Wales.
Ireland’s record against England has been impressive since 2020, boasting a streak of four successive wins, which includes three Six Nations matches and a World Cup preparation match last summer.
Update on the team?
There was cause for optimism on Tuesday among the Irish team as Hugo Keenan, Garry Ringrose, Oli Jager and Iain Henderson, all previous injury carriers, fully participated in training. It appears that the Irish side will be in perfect health ahead of the team declaration on Thursday.
Encouraging news also come from the English camp where players have made a timely recovery from injuries. Despite earlier reports indicating that Alex Mitchell would be out for the remainder of the Six Nations, he has returned after missing the match against Scotland. In addition, Marcus Smith seems set to make his debut appearance in this competition.
The selection of the player for the outhalf position presents an interesting choice for England, with George Ford and Fin Smith also looming in the equation.