Guinness Men’s Six Nations: England v Ireland

This is always one of the most fiercely-contested fixtures in a Guinness Men’s Six Nations Championship, as Ireland renew their 151-year rivalry with England in London, a week on from edging out Italy at home.

2026 GUINNESS MEN’S SIX NATIONS – ROUND 3:

Saturday, February 21 –

ENGLAND (3rd) v IRELAND (5th), Allianz Stadium, Twickenham, kick-off 2.10pm (live RTÉ 2/RTÉ Player/ITV 1/RTÉ Radio 1/BBC Radio 5 Live/BBC Radio Ulster/BBC Sounds/IRFU Live Blog)

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Team News: As Ireland bid to build on last Saturday’s 20-13 victory over the Italians, head coach Andy Farrell has made five personnel changes, which brings the number of caps in the starting XV from 456 up to 663.

Josh van der Flier returns to the matchday squad at openside flanker, while Tadhg Furlong, Tadhg Beirne, and half-backs Jamison Gibson-Park and Jack Crowley have all been promoted from the replacements bench.

Gibson-Park, Ireland’s player-of-the-match in their 2022 and 2025 wins over England, will lead the back-line alongside Munster star Crowley, who is preferred to Sam Prendergast as he comes in to make his 17th start in 33 Tests.

Robert Baloucoune, last Saturday’s try-scoring player-of-the-match on his Six Nations debut, and James Lowe are retained in a back-three anchored by Jamie Osborne at full-back.

Garry Ringrose and Stuart McCloskey form the centre pairing for the third round running, with Ulster ace McCloskey the team’s leading ball carrier (23) and offloader (4) after the opening two rounds.

In the pack, Jeremy Loughman will make his third straight start at loosehead prop, scrummaging alongside Dan Sheehan and the fit-again Furlong, who prepared for his first Ireland start since November by getting 40 minutes under his belt in round 2.

Joe McCarthy and James Ryan are retained in the engine room, and a back row featuring 200 Ireland caps’ worth of experience is led captain Caelan Doris at number 8, with Beirne and van der Flier in the flanker roles.

While Jack Conan and Craig Casey drop back to the bench, Finlay Bealham, Tommy O’Brien, and Ciarán Frawley are back in the matchday 23. Frawley, a recent starter at out-half for the Ireland XV, is set to play in the Six Nations for the first time since 2024.

Rónan Kelleher, Tom O’Toole, who covers the loosehead side again, and Nick Timoney are the other forward reinforcements, as Farrell’s men look to extend their impressive record against England to six wins in seven meetings since 2021.

Hoping that his charges can come out on top as they did at home a year ago, winning 27-22, Farrell commented: “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 come from all over the world whenever we play in Twickenham, it will be another special occasion and a challenge we’re excited to face.”

Meanwhile, there are three changes to the England team that lost 31-20 to Scotland last weekend, with Ollie Lawrence, Tom Curry, and exciting youngster Henry Pollock coming into the side.

The 21-year-old Pollock is handed his first Test start in an England shirt, packing down at number 8. Elsewhere, Jack van Poortvliet and Marcus Smith are named among the replacements as part of a six-two bench split.

Saracens Maro Itoje, who captained the British & Irish Lions last summer, will win his 100th cap for his country, becoming only the ninth Men’s player to reach the milestone for England.

“To reach 100 caps for England is a remarkable achievement and speaks volumes about Maro’s consistency and professionalism over many years,” said head coach Borthwick.

“He leads through his actions every day, sets the standard for others and cares deeply about representing his country. We’re all incredibly proud of what he has achieved, and I know it will be a special day for him and his family.

“We’re expecting a huge contest at Allianz Stadium and we’re excited for it. We know the challenge Ireland will bring, and we’ve selected a side that we believe has the right balance to meet it.”

Guinness Men’s Six Nations Results/Fixtures

Guinness Men’s Six Nations Table

ENGLAND: Freddie Steward (Leicester Tigers); Tommy Freeman (Northampton Saints), Ollie Lawrence (Bath), Fraser Dingwall (Northampton Saints), Henry Arundell (Bath); George Ford (Sale Sharks), Alex Mitchell (Northampton Saints); Ellis Genge (Bristol Bears), Luke Cowan-Dickie (Sale Sharks), Joe Heyes (Leicester Tigers), Maro Itoje (Saracens) (capt), Ollie Chessum (Leicester Tigers), Tom Curry (Sale Sharks), Ben Earl (Saracens), Henry Pollock (Northampton Saints).

Replacements: Jamie George (Saracens), Bevan Rodd (Sale Sharks), Trevor Davison (Northampton Saints), Alex Coles (Northampton Saints), Guy Pepper (Bath), Sam Underhill (Bath), Jack van Poortvliet (Leicester Tigers), Marcus Smith (Harlequins).

IRELAND: Jamie Osborne (Naas RFC/Leinster); Robert Baloucoune (Enniskillen RFC/Ulster), Garry Ringrose (UCD RFC/Leinster), Stuart McCloskey (Bangor RFC/Ulster), James Lowe (Leinster); Jack Crowley (Cork Constitution FC/Munster), Jamison Gibson-Park (Leinster); Jeremy Loughman (Garryowen FC/Munster), Dan Sheehan (Lansdowne FC/Leinster), Tadhg Furlong (Clontarf FC/Leinster), Joe McCarthy (Dublin University FC/Leinster), James Ryan (UCD RFC/Leinster), Tadhg Beirne (Lansdowne FC/Munster), Josh van der Flier (UCD RFC/Leinster), Caelan Doris (St. Mary’s College RFC/Leinster) (capt).

Replacements: Rónan Kelleher (Lansdowne FC/Leinster), Tom O’Toole (Ballynahinch RFC/Ulster), Finlay Bealham (Galway Corinthians RFC/Connacht), Nick Timoney (Queen’s University Belfast RFC/Ulster), Jack Conan (Old Belvedere RFC/Leinster), Craig Casey (Shannon RFC/Munster), Ciarán Frawley (UCD RFC/Leinster), Tommy O’Brien (Blackrock College RFC/Leinster).

Referee: Andrea Piardi (FIR)
Assistant Referees: Pierre Brousset (FFR), Gianluca Gnecchi (FIR)
TMO: Matteo Liperini (FIR)
FPRO: Mike Adamson (SRU)

Pre-Match Quotes:

Caelan Doris (Ireland) –

There’s always enough motivation playing against England. There’s an eagerness to hunt them down, to get after them, to show what we’re about.

“We feel there’s an ability and plenty of potential within the team. We want to show as much of that tomorrow afternoon as possible.

“Over here (playing at Twickenham) as well is an added element anyway. As a young fella watching the Six Nations, it was always the key game that you get excited for.

“You look at some of the events like 2009 playing in Croke Park, and some of the moments from that game that become kind of iconic in Irish history. So there probably is that added element of it for sure.”

Maro Itoje (England) –

In many ways it’s a great milestone (to reach 100 caps for England), but in many ways it will be a little bit sad that my mother is not there to witness this.

“I know she would have loved the occasion and everything about it. She’s not physically there but I know she will be spiritually there, cheering on from heaven when England get a dominant win.

“My message to my team-mates is to seize the opportunity against Ireland. We have to learn our lesson following our disappointing defeat to Scotland at Murrayfield and move forward. We didn’t start well, we were not as accurate and precise as we wanted to be.

“I think over the last 12 months we’ve been good at riding the wave and finding a way, but we were not good at that (last week). We need to address what went wrong and get off to a strong start.”

Pre-Match Interviews & Links –

Crowley And Ryan Rewarded For Lifting Performance Levels

‘We’ve Got A Cracker To Look Forward To’ – Farrell

Opta Facts: Guinness Men’s Six Nations – England v Ireland

‘Lions Connections Add To The Rivalry’ – Gibson-Park

Sexton: Anytime You Go To London Is A Huge Challenge

Osborne: Ireland Versus England Is A Proper Game In Any Sport

Recent Meetings –

2023: Guinness Men’s Six Nations: Ireland 29 England 16, Aviva Stadium; Bank of Ireland Nations Series: Ireland 29 England 10, Aviva Stadium

2024: Guinness Men’s Six Nations: England 23 Ireland 22, Twickenham Stadium

2025: Guinness Men’s Six Nations: Ireland 27 England 22, Aviva Stadium

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