Round 1 of the 2025 Guinness Men’s Six Nations wraps up with a massive encounter at the Aviva Stadium, as Ireland, with Simon Easterby in temporary charge, look to inject some early momentum into their three in-a-row bid.
2025 GUINNESS MEN’S SIX NATIONS CHAMPIONSHIP – ROUND 1:
Saturday, February 1 –
IRELAND v ENGLAND, Aviva Stadium, 4.45pm (live Virgin Media One/Virgin Media Play/ITV1/RTÉ Radio 1/BBC Radio Ulster/BBC Sounds/BBC Radio 5 Live/IRFU Live Blog)
Coming To The Match? All You Need To Know For Ireland v England
Opta Facts: Men’s Six Nations – Ireland v England
Team News: Interim Ireland Men’s head coach Easterby has selected the team (sponsored by Vodafone) to play England in Saturday’s opening Guinness Men’s Six Nations clash at a sold-out Aviva Stadium.
Garry Ringrose and Ryan Baird are the two personnel changes to the side that beat Australia in November to celebrate the IRFU’s 150th Test anniversary. Baird comes in at blindside flanker, with Tadhg Beirne reverting to the second row.
Caelan Doris will captain Ireland for the seventh time, stepping up to lead his country for their 2025 Six Nations title defence having had the role for the recent Autumn Nations Series.
Assuming the head coach duties while Andy Farrell focuses on preparations for the British & Irish Lions tour, Easterby hands the 21-year-old Sam Prendergast his Six Nations debut at half-back. He is partnered by his Leinster team-mate Jamison Gibson-Park.
Back from suspension, Connacht’s Mack Hansen joins Hugo Keenan and James Lowe in a familiar back-three combination, and Ringrose starts alongside Bundee Aki in the centre, as he did against New Zealand at the start of the current campaign.
Finlay Bealham continues at tighthead prop, with Tadhg Furlong ruled out with a calf injury. Andrew Porter, Rónan Kelleher, James Ryan, and Beirne complete the tight five, while Joe McCarthy misses the first round match due to a ‘nasty blow’ to the head in training.
Baird, Josh van der Flier, and captain Doris line out together in the loose forwards, with fellow back rower Jack Conan included on the replacements bench for what could be his first international appearance since last March’s Championship-clinching victory over Scotland.
Dan Sheehan, who had a successful return from an ACL injury with Leinster last week, is also part of the forward reinforcements alongside Cian Healy, Ireland’s most-capped player of all-time, Thomas Clarkson, and Iain Henderson.
The reigning Six Nations champions have Munster’s Jack Crowley standing by for an impact role, and two more very experienced campaigners to come into the back-line in Conor Murray and Robbie Henshaw, who have 197 Ireland caps between them.
Speaking ahead of the eagerly-awaited Championship opener, Easterby said: “We’ve come off the back of a good week’s training in Quinta do Lago and I have been hugely impressed by the effort of the squad.
“We’ve enjoyed some competitive sessions and it wasn’t easy selecting a squad for this week’s game given the quality of those who haven’t made the final 23.
“Credit to those who missed out on selection for this game, there was obvious disappointment but they all stepped up brilliantly to help prepare the team this week.”
He added: “England are a talented squad with quality across their panel, and we know that we will need to hit the ground running to deliver a winning performance.
“The atmosphere will be electric come kick-off and I know how excited the Irish public will be to see their team perform.
“That opportunity to represent the Irish people is something that always motivates the players, and there has been real intent in how they have approached this week’s training. We’re ready for the challenge and excited to get going.”
Meanwhile, England will be captained by second row Majo Itoje for the first time, while Harlequins’ Cadan Murley, an impressive try scorer at club level, has been chosen on the left wing for his international debut.
England head coach Steve Borthwick’s selection is also notable as the Curry brothers, flankers Tom and Ben, will become the first twins to play for the England Men’s team.
Northampton Saints’ Alex Mitchell has recovered from a knee injury to start at half-back alongside Marcus Smith, the scorer of the late match-winning drop goal in last year’s 23-22 win at home to Ireland.
“We’re looking forward to the challenge of facing the tournament favourites,” said Borthwick, who has Jamie George, Alex Coles, Alex Dombrandt and Jack van Poortvliet on his injury list. “We know it’ll be a tough contest against a team that’s very familiar with each other.
“We’ll need to work tirelessly and maintain our discipline from the first whistle to the last. England versus Ireland in Dublin is a huge occasion, and we’ll be ready to face it head-on.”
Guinness Men’s Six Nations Fixtures/Results
Guinness Men’s Six Nations Table
IRELAND: Hugo Keenan (UCD RFC/Leinster); Mack Hansen (Galway Corinthians RFC/Connacht), Garry Ringrose (UCD RFC/Leinster), Bundee Aki (Galwegians RFC/Connacht), James Lowe (Leinster); Sam Prendergast (Lansdowne/Leinster), Jamison Gibson-Park (Leinster); Andrew Porter (UCD RFC/Leinster), Rónan Kelleher (Lansdowne FC/Leinster), Finlay Bealham (Galway Corinthians RFC/Connacht), James Ryan (UCD RFC/Leinster), Tadhg Beirne (Lansdowne FC/Munster), Ryan Baird (Dublin University FC/Leinster), Josh van der Flier (UCD RFC/Leinster), Caelan Doris (St. Mary’s College RFC/Leinster) (capt).
Replacements: Dan Sheehan (Lansdowne FC/Leinster), Cian Healy (Clontarf FC/Leinster), Thomas Clarkson (Dublin University FC/Leinster), Iain Henderson (Academy RFC/Ulster), Jack Conan (Old Belvedere RFC/Leinster), Conor Murray (Garryowen FC/Munster), Jack Crowley (Cork Constitution FC/Munster), Robbie Henshaw (Buccaneers RFC/Leinster).
ENGLAND: Freddie Steward (Leicester Tigers); Tommy Freeman (Northampton Saints), Ollie Lawrence (Bath), Henry Slade (Exeter Chiefs), Cadan Murley (Harlequins); Marcus Smith (Harlequins), Alex Mitchell (Northampton Saints); Ellis Genge (Bristol Bears), Luke Cowan-Dickie (Sale Sharks), Will Stuart (Bath), Maro Itoje (Saracens) (capt), George Martin (Leicester Tigers), Tom Curry (Sale Sharks), Ben Curry (Sale Sharks), Ben Earl (Saracens).
Replacements: Theo Dan (Saracens), Fin Baxter (Harlequins), Joe Heyes (Leicester Tigers), Ollie Chessum (Leicester Tigers), Chandler Cunningham-South (Harlequins), Tom Willis (Saracens), Harry Randall (Bristol Bears), Fin Smith (Northampton Saints).
Referee: Ben O’Keeffe (New Zealand)
Assistant Referees: James Doleman (New Zealand), Hollie Davidson (Scotland)
TMO: Glenn Newman (New Zealand)
FPRO: Richard Kelly (New Zealand)
Pre-Match Quotes: Caelan Doris (Ireland) –
It’s always the ultimate test coming up against England. There’s a rich history and a massive rivalry there over the last number of years.
“We’d had a pretty good run (last year), fourth round going in over there and there was a lot of belief, we also respected them massively and knew that there was a big performance brewing from them.
“England obviously hadn’t gone so well at that point but you look back six months prior to that and they’re in a World Cup semi-final.
“It’s similar now in that they’ve been on the wrong side of some of their results in the autumn, but we have massive respect for them as a team and the quality in their squad.
“They are always very abrasive, confrontational, strong set-piece, very good lineout and maul, and they maul more than most teams. Starting off here in Dublin against England, it doesn’t get much better or bigger than this.”
Maro Itoje (England) –
We’ve prepared well, the boys have trained well and we’ve come together quite nicely. We’re clear on the plan. We’re ready to go. It’s a really big task.
“Obviously Ireland are a very good team. They’re a team that in their recent history have put together a string of notable performances.
“They have quality players and continuity, more so than most other nations due to the Leinster connection.
“They’re a team full of good players and they have that strong Leinster core to what they do and their selection.
“It’s a team that’s played together before, a team that know what they’re about. But we’re a good team too.”
Pre-Match Videos –
Recent Meetings –
2022: Guinness Men’s Six Nations: England 15 Ireland 32, Twickenham Stadium
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
Support Ireland on www.facebook.com/irishrugby, or search #IREvENG and #TeamOfUs on www.twitter.com/irishrugby.