Guinness Six Nations: Ireland v England

IRELAND: Hugo Keenan (UCD/Leinster); Mack Hansen (Galway Corinthians/Connacht), Robbie Henshaw (Buccaneers/Leinster), Bundee Aki (Galwegians/Connacht), James Lowe (Leinster); Jonathan Sexton (St. Mary’s College/Leinster) (capt), Jamison Gibson-Park (Leinster); Andrew Porter (UCD/Leinster), Dan Sheehan (Lansdowne/Leinster), Tadhg Furlong (Clontarf/Leinster), Ryan Baird (Dublin University/Leinster), James Ryan (UCD/Leinster), Peter O’Mahony (Cork Constitution/Munster), Josh van der Flier (UCD/Leinster), Caelan Doris (St. Mary’s College/Leinster).

Replacements: Rob Herring (Ballynahinch/Ulster), Cian Healy (Clontarf/Leinster), Tom O’Toole (Ballynahinch/Ulster), Kieran Treadwell (Ballymena/Ulster), Jack Conan (Old Belvedere/Leinster), Conor Murray (Garryowen/Munster), Ross Byrne (UCD/Leinster), Jimmy O’Brien (Naas/Leinster).

ENGLAND: Freddie Steward (Leicester Tigers); Anthony Watson (Leicester Tigers), Henry Slade (Exeter Chiefs), Manu Tuilagi (Sale Sharks), Henry Arundell (London Irish); Owen Farrell (Saracens) (capt), Jack van Poortvliet (Leicester Tigers); Ellis Genge (Bristol Bears), Jamie George (Saracens), Kyle Sinckler (Bristol Bears), Maro Itoje (Saracens), David Ribbans (Northampton Saints), Lewis Ludlam (Northampton Saints), Jack Willis (Toulouse), Alex Dombrandt (Harlequins).

Replacements: Jack Walker (Harlequins), Mako Vunipola (Saracens), Dan Cole (Leicester Tigers), Nick Isiekwe (Saracens), Ben Curry (Sale Sharks), Alex Mitchell (Northampton Saints), Marcus Smith (Harlequins), Joe Marchant (Harlequins).

Referee: Jaco Peyper (South Africa)
Assistant Referees: Ben O’Keeffe (New Zealand), Pierre Brousset (France)
Television Match Official: Marius Jonker (South Africa)

Pre-Match Quotes: Jonathan Sexton (Ireland) –

I have got a bit more emotional as I have gone on so it will definitely be trying to hold that back but use it as well because it will hopefully be a special day.

“It’s special, of course, but it’s more about the team this week and getting the best performance that we can put there. I’d never be able to live with myself if you don’t turn up and play well so that’s the focus.

“You take the emotion out of it, it’s going to be emotional anyway. You’re playing England at home with something on the line, so it’s always what you’ve wanted to do and where you wanted to be. It’s not the last game with this team, well I certainly hope not.

“We’ve got a lot more of the journey left so I’m not really thinking like that. I’m just thinking about trying to get out there and put in the best performance I can, then try to get everyone else on the same page.”

Steve Borthwick (England) –

We travel to Dublin to face an Ireland team on Saturday that has the chance to secure a Grand Slam Championship victory at the Aviva Stadium for the first time.

“We know that after the bitter disappointment of the display against an exceptional France team last week, we will have to be much improved to meet the challenge of playing the side presently ranked number one in the world.

“However, I have witnessed an England squad determined to make amends for the defeat at Twickenham, and I am confident that the team announced will once again want to show the sort of resilience and attitude that brought us victory in Wales.”

Pre-Match Videos –

Opta Facts – Ireland v England:

– Ireland have won their last two Guinness Six Nations matches against England, scoring exactly 32 points in each of those games

– Ireland have won 13 of their previous 23 games against England in the Championship (L10), a 57% win rate – the best rate by any nation against England

– Ireland have won each of their last seven Six Nations fixtures, their joint-longest winning run in the Championship, alongside another seven-match streak between 2004 and 2005

– Should Ireland defeat England, they will clinch a fourth Grand Slam (also 1948, 2009 and 2018) and their fifth Championship title in 15 seasons

– It would also be their second Triple Crown in a row and their seventh overall since 2000, more than any other nation

– England lost their most recent Six Nations match by a margin of 43 points (53-10 v France), their heaviest ever defeat in the Championship. However, they won their only previous away game this year (20-10 v Wales)

– Ireland (37) and England (34) are the two teams to have conceded the fewest penalties in this year’s Six Nations and are the only sides yet to be shown a card of any colour

– They are also the two teams with the highest share of territory per game in this year’s Championship (England – 60%, Ireland – 59%)

– England have the highest dominant carry rate of any side in this year’s Six Nations (33%), while Ireland have committed two-plus opposition tacklers from 57% of their carries, the highest such rate of any nation in this year’s Championship

– England have both the highest lineout (95%) and scrum (95%) success rates of any team in this year’s Six Nations. However, Ireland have the best success rate on opposition lineouts this year, winning 23% of their opponents’ throws

– Ireland duo James Lowe (404) and Hugo Keenan (414) are the only players to have gained 400-plus metres in this year’s Six Nations, with England’s Freddie Steward being one of just two other players to have made 300 metres in the Championship this year (306, also Thomas Ramos – 363)

– Should Dan Cole feature, he will win his 100th cap for England, becoming just the fourth player to reach a century for the England Men’s team (also Jason Leonard, Ben Youngs and Owen Farrell). It would also be his 50th appearance in the Six Nations

– Jonathan Sexton scored seven points against Scotland last weekend to take his tally to 557 in Six Nations, drawing level with former team-mate Ronan O’Gara as the joint top points scorer in the history of the Championship