Opta Facts: Under-20 Men’s Six Nations – England U-20s v Ireland U-20s
Leinster Academy back rower Josh Neill was the Ireland Under-20s' player-of-the-match against Italy last week ©Shauna Clinton/Sportsfile
A final away trip of the 2026 Under-20 Men’s Six Nations will take the Ireland U-20s (sponsored by PwC) to Bath to play second-placed England on Friday night (kick-off 7.45pm). Check out the Opta Facts, provided by Stats Perform, below.
– England defeated Ireland in last year’s Under-20 Six Nations (19-3), but are winless across their last three home matches against them in the Championship (D1, L2). Their most recent meeting in England in 2024 also took place in Bath and resulted in a 32-all draw
– England have lost just one of their last 12 games in the U-20 Six Nations (W10, D1) and have won both of their first two in 2026, the fourth consecutive year in which they have done so
– England have also won each of their last five round 3 fixtures in the U-20 Six Nations tournament
– England have lost just one of their previous six U-20 Six Nations encounters at the Recreation Ground in Bath (W4, D1), and are unbeaten across their last four since a 42-7 defeat to France in the penultimate round of the 2023 Championship
– Ireland won their most recent U-20 Six Nations match, overcoming Italy 30-27 in Cork, after losing four in a row previously. They could win back-to-back fixtures in the Championship for the first time since securing 13 straight victories between 2022 and 2024
– Ireland have lost each of their last three away games in the U-20 Six Nations. However, they have never lost four consecutive matches on the road in the Championship
– England are the only team to have conceded fewer than two points per 22m entry in this year’s U-20 Six Nations, while Ireland are the only side to have conceded over three (3.4). England also rank first for attacking 22m entries (24)
– England have the highest rates for dominant carries (35%) and gainline success (73%) of any team in the 2026 U-20 Six Nations, while Ireland have gained the most metres-in-contact of any side (424)
– Ireland were the only team to gain 500+ metres in round 2 last week (517), while England were the only side to concede fewer than 300 metres last time out (258)
– England’s Aiden Ainsworth-Cave has claimed the most lineouts of any player in this year’s U-20 Six Nations (15, including one steal), and also ranks joint-second for turnovers won (3, level with Scotland’s Campbell Waugh), behind only Italy’s Riccardo Casarin (5)
– Ireland’s Noah Byrne was one of three players to assist a round-high two tries last week (also Sion Davies of Wales and France’s Antoine Latrasse). He was the first full-back to assist two tries in the Championship for Ireland since Jamie Osborne against Wales in 2021