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 (capt).
Replacements: Rónan Kelleher, Tom O’Toole, Finlay Bealham, Nick Timoney, Jack Conan, Craig Casey, Ciaran Frawley, Tommy O’Brien.
ENGLAND: Freddie Steward, Tommy Freeman, Ollie Lawrence, Fraser Dingwall, Henry Arundell; George Ford, Alex Mitchell; Ellis Genge, Luke Cowan-Dickie, Joe Heyes; Maro Itoje (capt), 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.
Key reads:
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Top marks for Gerry Thornley, more quotes from Andy Farrell’s press conference:
Edwin Edogbo made a favourable impression last week, not least in giving Ireland’s scrum some oomph, which must have made his omission a tough decision.
“We’ve got some good players who are used to pushing in the scrum in the secondrow,” said Farrell. “Any type of unit like Edwin is going to be quite dominant in that department.
“I suppose the occasion, when you’re coming on as a newish player in a big game like that at Twickenham, are you going to have it in your legs in the last 10 minutes or not?
“There’s a difference there in that regard, but I suppose Joe McCarthy’s big enough and strong enough. We’ve certainly got a determined pack this week to make sure that that area is attacked from us.”
ahead of Ireland’s Six Nations clash against Italy. Photograph: Inpho
Referencing the racist abuse Edogbo received following his debut against Italy, which the IRFU is now investigating, Farrell said: “First and foremost, it’s all about the player – nothing but about how he is, and how it’s affecting him or not.
“We’ve had the conversation and he’s fine, thankfully, but it’s obviously disgusting. There’s no need for it in society. I didn’t read it, I don’t want to read it. I don’t want to give people anything to even think that I’m even commenting on some of the stuff that has been said really, because they certainly don’t deserve that.
“But as far as I’m concerned, Edwin’s fine. He’s strong, he’s been brought up in the right way. We met his family last week, his mother and his two brothers and his sister. His father couldn’t make it because he works all hours God sends as an A&E nurse there down in Cork, which says it all.
“So, he’s made of the right stuff, and that’s why he’s able to just crack on and ignore all the BS.”
More from Gerry Thornley, with Andy Farrell sticking to the topic of Ireland’s change at outhalf:
Asked if a lack of confidence was behind the decision not to play Sam Prendergast in the Twickenham cauldron, Farrell said: “Well, Sam’s a fantastic international player. He’s on a journey that’s obviously learning, like all of us. That will never stop. It’s the same for Ciarán Frawley.
“We’ve talked all along about the four lads (Prendergast, Crowley, Frawley and Harry Byrne) competing against one another, and the balance is right for this team this weekend.”
Farrell described Frawley as “100 per cent excited” at the prospect of his first Test involvement of the season, and his first Six Nations outing since Ireland’s game against England in the 2024 tournament.
“He’s certainly been frustrated with the lack of game time, certainly in the autumn, but being able to give him the game there in the Ireland XV (v England A on February 6th) obviously kept him ticking over.
“And for what we’ve seen in training – how sharp he is, how eager he is to get going, and the balance that he gives us on the bench – he’ll be ready to go.”
Here’s Gerry Thornley with some quotes from Andy Farrell’s press conference:
Explaining the five changes to the starting line-up against England, Farrell said: “Like always, there’s a few different reasons that all gets put together.
“The main point to get out of selection is what’s the right balance for us as a team, where we’re at, and who we’re playing against in round three at Twickenham, which for us is a big occasion.
“So, a few lads promoted from the bench, maybe a bit fresher starting – a few lads that have not played coming into the squad as well over the last week or two, which freshens things up.”
In regard to the change at outhalf, Farrell said Jack Crowley had got the nod to start “because of what we’ve seen and how he’s come through and performed”, adding the Munster man has been “playing confidently”.
“I think the two lads (Prendergast and Crowley) came in to camp probably in better form … You see during training which way you’re going to go (based on) performance. You back what you see.
“Sometimes you see people come from the back (with) nothing to lose and then just rip in. And we’ve not just seen that with Jack, we’ve seen it with James Ryan – not selected to start in the first game, came on against France and had a storming game, and has continued that.
“I saw that with James (Lowe) as well with the Lions, when he was behind the eight-ball there with a quad injury and he was chasing his tail to try and get into the squad and (then) played his best rugby within that tour.
“That’s because people are able to sit back a bit, make sense of it and rip into the performance. I think you saw that with Jack’s performance last week.”
On a less savoury note, another dark cloud hanging over the Ireland camp since last weekend has been the online abuse directed at some players.
After earning his first cap when coming off the bench against Italy, Munster secondrow Edwin Edogbo was the target of racist comments which the IRFU described at “cowardly”.
On Monday, the union confirmed it is investigating the matter, stating: “We’re aware of some targeted abuse online in recent days and continue to work with Signify (a data technology company which specialises in protecting against online abuse) and the relevant authorities to report it.”
The IRFU added: “We will also continue to fully support all affected by the cowardly actions of a minority and investigations are under way alongside our partners Signify.
“It is clear that racist abuse has no place in Irish society and the IRFU has a zero-tolerance policy towards racism of any form.”
[ IRFU investigating Edwin Edogbo racist abuseOpens in new window ]
After Saturday’s win, Andy Farrell also hit out at “keyboard warriors” regarding harsh criticism aimed at outhalves Sam Prendergast and Jack Crowley.
“It can be tough for these kids,” Farrell said of the negative comments the pair have received. “I’ve seen it, to-ing and fro-ing with both of them, and both of them are strong characters, it takes a lot to break kids like that, but I’ve seen it affect people.
“So, the keyboard warriors on Twitter, or whatever you call it now, need to cop on and try to help these kids.”
Reminder, Gerry Thornley will have news for us from Ireland’s press conference shortly. Stay tuned.
It seems like after every Ireland game we collectively find something to be worried about. The Italy game was no different – the topic of concern: the scrum.
“Two snapshots will be nagging away in Irish minds before this weekend’s visit to southwest London,” Robert Kitson writes. “The first is the sobering sight of Tadhg Furlong and Dan Sheehan, both distinguished British & Irish Lions, being rocketed skywards by Italy’s power in the set scrums last Saturday.”
If you missed last weekend’s game and wish to see evidence of the first snapshot to which Kitson refers, here you go:
Yep, that is Tadhg Furlong being hoisted into the air due to the pressure from Italy’s scrum.
The second ‘nagging snapshot’ Kitson writes of is the 2012 meeting of Saturday’s sides when Ireland let slip a penalty try, six scrum penalties and three scrums on their way to a 30-9 defeat at Twickenham.
To make matters worse, he adds: “As recently as 2022 Ireland also conceded six scrum penalties against England at Twickenham but, on that occasion, were bailed out by Charlie Ewels’ early red card. So little wonder there is a slight hint of green foreboding this time, particularly bearing in mind the Irish pack’s torrid scrummaging examination at the hands of South Africa in Dublin in November.”
[ Power points: why scrum battle could be crucial in England v Ireland clashOpens in new window ]
In the latest episode of The Counter Ruck, Nathan Johns chats with Gordon D’Arcy and John O’Sullivan on whether Ireland’s rather unsettling win over Italy was enough to give them a bit of confidence heading to England.
Listen below, or wherever you get your podcasts:
Did Ireland restore confidence ahead of Twickenham showdown?
Now that we’ve got our mitts on the Ireland team, let’s go back and have a proper look at England’s side for Saturday.
Steve Borthwick went for three changes to the side that fell to Scotland in Murrayfield last Saturday, handing Henry Pollock his first England start.
Interestingly, the 21-year-old with the rather Marmite persona was in a Lions XV before getting a start for his national side. Pollock was in the run-on team for three of the Lions’ warm-up games during last summer’s tour of Australia but didn’t feature in any of the three Tests.
Anyway, he starts at eight on Saturday, with Tom Curry on the blindside and Ollie Lawrence at outside centre being the other two changes.
They’ve gone for the in vogue 6-2 bench, Jack van Poortvliet and Marcus Smith covering the back field.
And England were given a boost earlier in the week when it was confirmed Henry Arundell would be available for selection despite his two yellow cards against Scotland, the powers that be deeming his sending off to have been punishment enough, so he’s held on to his spot on the wing.
On his team selection, Ireland head coach Andy Farrell had this to say for himself:
“Games between the two sides have been nip and tuck over recent times and there’s great familiarity and respect across both camps.
“We know their strengths and our aim is to deliver the best version of ourselves to put us in a position to get the performance that we want.
“Backed by thousands of travelling Irish supporters who travel from all over the world whenever we play in Twickenham, it will be another special occasion and a challenge we’re excited to face.”
We’ll have more from him later as he’ll be holding a press conference around midday.
Gerry Thornley has this quick-take on Andy Farrell’s selection:
As expected, Jamison Gibson-Park and Jack Crowley have been promoted to the starting line-up for Ireland’s Six Nations round three game against England at Twickenham on Saturday.
Both halfbacks are rewarded for their telling impact in last Saturday’s 20-13 win over Italy in Dublin, while Tadhg Furlong and Tadhg Beirne, who also made strong contributions off the bench, are also named in the starting XV. The fifth change sees Josh van der Flier recalled at openside after he was left out of last week’s matchday squad.
Sam Prendergast, who had started Ireland’s last four games and started four of last season’s Six Nations fixtures while featuring in all five, has been left out of the matchday 23 altogether. The 23-year-old had been in the matchday squad for 15 of Ireland’s last 16 matches since making his debut against Argentina in November 2024, the one exception being when he was rested for the 106-7 win over Portugal last July.
Instead, Ciarán Frawley has been promoted to the replacements despite Andy Farrell reverting to a 5-3 bench. Finlay Bealham has been called up as tighthead cover as Thomas Clarkson also misses out, with Jack Conan dropping to the bench and Caelan Doris reverting to number eight with Beirne at blindside.
Surprisingly, both Cormac Izuchukwu, who started last week, and Edwin Edogbo, who made his debut as a 70th-minute replacement, also miss out on the 23 as Tommy O’Brien has been recalled after starting in Ireland’s opening loss at the Stade de France.
Jamie Osborne, Robert Baloucoune and James Lowe are named in an unchanged back three, with Stuart McCloskey and Garry Ringrose continuing in midfield. Up front, Jeremy Loughman and Dan Sheehan are retained form last week, as is the secondrow of Joe McCarthy and James Ryan.
The team has landed, here’s how Ireland line out against England…
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 (capt).
Replacements: Rónan Kelleher, Tom O’Toole, Finlay Bealham, Nick Timoney, Jack Conan, Craig Casey, Ciaran Frawley, Tommy O’Brien.
Fifteen minute warning. Team announcement at 11am.
Want a reminder of Ireland’s tries against Italy? Of course you do.
Up first was Jamie Osborne:
Shortly after the break, Jack Conan crashed over to pull Ireland level:
And then Robert Baloucoune capped off a powerful debut with Ireland’s third:
More of that this weekend, please and thank you.
Last weekend saw a slight change to the World Rugby rankings. Here’s how they now stand:
France’s big win over Wales pushed them above England to third, South Africa still sitting pretty in first, followed by the All Blacks in second.
Ireland are fifth, with Argentina, Fiji and Australia occupying sixth through eighth. Scotland and Italy round out the top 10, with Wales 11th.
We’re an hour out from Ireland’s team announcement now, hang in there.
In his latest column, Owen Doyle focused on a championship first after Scotland’s Hollie Davidson became the first women to referee a men’s Six Nations game, taking charge of Ireland v Italy.
“The previous week’s results – a win for Italy and a defeat for Ireland – greatly increased the challenge for Hollie Davidson,” he writes, “Becoming the first woman to referee in the men’s Six Nations is a truly brilliant achievement. It was a merit-based appointment and we will see more of her at this level.”
Although Craig Casey’s yellow card may be thought a little harsh, Doyle notes, “Casey needed to make some effort to position himself for a legal tackle”, so no qualms there.
Though there were a few perplexing moments.
“With the intensity ratcheting up, we saw a few incorrect and questionable decisions,” Doyle adds, citing a last-minute penalty against debutant Edwin Edogbo.
“(He) seemed to do as he was told, but was pinged anyway. If Davidson considered that he had slowed down Italian possession, then she probably felt a penalty was necessary. It was all very debatable and therefore, the wise course of action was to play on.”
Read Owen’s column in full below:
[ Hollie Davidson had a very good first half, but a few calls were perplexingOpens in new window ]
After their early Grand Slam hopes were dashed last weekend, will England’s shaken confidence offer opportunity for Andy Farrell’s side at Twickenham or will they go the way of the Scots and silence their doubters in front of a home crowd?
Ireland are hoping for the latter, but they’ll still have to put in the work. Nathan Johns looked at last Saturday’s Calcutta Cup fixture and has some thoughts on what Ireland can learn from our Celtic cousins to test England.
“If imitation is the sincerest form of flattery then many an indirect compliment could well be heading Scotland’s way from Ireland’s training centre in Abbotstown,” Nathan writes, picking out the kicking battle, the breakdown and a balanced attack as the key areas Ireland should target.
Read Nathan’s analysis in full below:
[ How Ireland can beat England and what they can learn from ScotlandOpens in new window ]
England v Ireland is this weekend’s opener (side note: Ireland were dealt the opening match in each of the five rounds), while Scotland travel to Cardiff to face Wales in Saturday’s late game (kick-off 4.40pm), followed by France v Italy in Paris on Sunday (kick-off 3.10pm).
England v Ireland and France v Italy will be televised live on RTÉ2 and ITV1, while Virgin Media One and BBC One will have live coverage of Wales v Scotland.
England head coach Steve Borthwick got his selection out of the way nice and early, dropping his team on Tuesday.
This is how they’ll line out on Saturday:
ENGLAND (v Ireland): Freddie Steward, Tommy Freeman, Ollie Lawrence, Fraser Dingwall, Henry Arundell; George Ford, Alex Mitchell; Ellis Genge, Luke Cowan-Dickie, Joe Heyes; Maro Itoje (capt), 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.
As is tradition on the eve of Ireland team announcements, Gerry Thornley has predicted who he thinks Andy Farrell will name in his matchday squad for Saturday’s game.
Short version: Crowley in, Prendergast out. No, like, out out.
Gerry believes Munster’s Jack Crowley is set to get his first start of this campaign at outhalf, with no room for Sam Prendergast in the matchday 23 as Ciarán Frawley will likely be named on the 6-2 bench as he can cover much of the backfield.
Here’s Gerry’s predicted Ireland side to play England, and you can read his reasonings in full below:
IRELAND (possible v England): Jamie Osborne; Robert Baloucoune, Garry Ringrose, Stuart McCloskey, James Lowe; Jack Crowley, Jamison Gibson-Park; Jeremy Loughman, Dan Sheehan, Tadhg Furlong, James Ryan, Joe McCarthy, Tadhg Beirne, Josh van der Flier, Caelan Doris (capt).
Replacements: Rónan Kelleher, Tom O’Toole, Finlay Bealham, Jack Conan, (two from Edwin Edogbo, Cormac Izuchukwu and Nick Timoney), Craig Casey, Ciarán Frawley.
Here’s how the championship table looks after two rounds:
It’s always good to start with a quick refresher of last weekend, so here’s the abridged version of round two.
Ireland welcomed Italy to Dublin in the opening fixture of round two, with the two sides having taken contrasting results over the first round – Italy beating Scotland in Rome after Ireland were humbled by France in Paris.
So, a buoyant Azzurri came to the Aviva and really made their hosts earn it, a weighty sigh of relief emanating from the Ireland coaching box at full-time.
[ Ireland dig deep to see off considerable Italy challenge in Six NationsOpens in new window ]
At Murrayfield, Scotland did exactly what Scotland tend to do, bouncing back from an opening loss away to Italy to shock high-flying England. Finn Russell pulled the strings, the Scots reclaimed the Calcutta Cup, and Gregor Townsend lives to fight another day.
[ Storming Scotland stun England to seal Calcutta Cup gloryOpens in new window ]
For poor Wales, the silver lining was that things didn’t get much worse. After a drubbing by England in round one, their 54-12 defeat against France in Cardiff on Sunday felt like it could have gone a lot worse, especially since Antoine Dupont, Louis Bielle-Biarrey, Thomas Ramos et al were all in flying form. As we know, those fantastic French are hard to stomach when it’s your tryline their trotting over.
[ Imperious France enjoy eight-try romp over sorry Wales in CardiffOpens in new window ]
Good morning! We’re back bright and early as Andy Farrell is due to name his for Ireland’s third round Six Nations game against England.
After last weekend’s win over Italy at the Aviva Stadium, Ireland are on their travels this time out, heading to Twickenham where they have another 2.10pm kick-off on Saturday.
The team announcement is due to land at 11am.
In the meantime, we’ll be going through all of the latest Six Nations news, comment and analysis, and looking ahead to this weekend’s fixtures.