Ireland kick off their bid for an unprecedented men’s Six Nations three-peat with a meeting with England at the Aviva Stadium.
The two-time defending champions will be guided by Simon Easterby during this campaign with Andy Farrell on sabbatical as he prepares to take charge of the British and Irish Lions.
They open their tournament against the only side to beat them last year, though Steve Borthwick’s side have struggled mightily to back up that performance at Twickenham.
The rest of 2024 brought just two more wins, both against Japan, to leave Borthwick a man under pressure entering this tournament.
Here’s everything you need to know.
When is Ireland vs England?
Ireland vs England is due to kick off at 4.45pm GMT on Saturday 1 February at the Aviva Stadium in Dublin.
How can I watch it?
Viewers in the United Kingdom can watch the match live on ITV1, with coverage on the channel from 4pm GMT. A live stream will be available via ITVX.
Team news
Sam Prendergast gets the nod ahead of Jack Crowley at fly half for Ireland, with the Leinster youngster set to make his first Six Nations appearance. He joins a familiar backline within which James Lowe is deemed to fit to feature having made a return in club colours last weekend. There is no Joe McCarthy, though, with the lock nursing an injury - James Ryan therefore partners Tadhg Beirne with Ryan Baird on the blindside.
With no Tadhg Furlong, it is Finlay Bealham at tighthead, while Dan Sheehan’s availability after recovering from a serious knee injury is a boost to the bench.
England hand a debut to Harlequins wing Cadan Murley, with Freddie Steward also included in the back three with both Immanuel Feyi-Waboso and George Furbank absent due to injury. Tom and Ben Curry start together for the first time in international colours at senior level as the identical twins join Ben Earl in the back row, while Maro Itoje skippers the side for the first time having been installed as captain ahead of this campaign. A punchy six forwards to two backs bench includes number eight Tom Willis, who is in line to earn a second cap on the back of impressive club form for Saracens.
Line-ups
Ireland XV: 1 Andrew Porter, 2 Ronan Kelleher, 3 Finlay Bealham; 4 James Ryan, 5 Tadhg Beirne; 6 Ryan Baird, 7 Josh van der Flier, 8 Caelan Doris (capt.); 9 Jamison Gibson-Park, 10 Sam Prendergast; 11 James Lowe, 12 Bundee Aki, 13 Garry Ringrose, 14 Mack Hansen; 15 Hugo Keenan.
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 XV: 1 Ellis Genge, 2 Luke Cowan-Dickie, 3 Will Stuart; 4 Maro Itoje (capt.), 5 George Martin; 6 Tom Curry, 7 Ben Curry, 8 Ben Earl; 9 Alex Mitchell, 10 Marcus Smith; 11 Cadan Murley, 12 Henry Slade, 13 Ollie Lawrence, 14 Tommy Freeman; 15 Freddie Steward.
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.
Odds
Ireland win 2/5
Draw 25/1
England win 5/2
The Independent vets betting sites for useability, security and responsible gambling tools. You can claim free bets here to use across a range of sports. Please read the terms.
We may earn commission from some of the links in this article, but we never allow this to influence our content. This revenue helps to fund journalism across The Independent.
