Preview: England v Ireland
Preview, stats and facts ahead of England's clash with Ireland at Twickenham on Saturday.
England's clash with Ireland in round four of the Guinness Six Nations is a semi-final according to Eddie Jones.
With both sides still in the hunt for a championship, Jones knows a win at Twickenham would set his side up for a showdown with France in Paris. It's all to play for.
| Date | Saturday 12 February |
| Venue | Twickenham Stadium |
| Coverage | ITV & BBC Radio 5 Live |
| Kick off | 4:45pm |
"It's a semi-final, one of the two teams will progress to the final, so both teams know what is at stake," said Jones. "All I'm worried about is my team playing well. We're prepared and we're going to go after them."
Alex Dombrandt is named as a finisher following a period of isolation due to a positive COVID test, and is joined there by Joe Launchbury, who is in line to make his first international appearance since December 2020.
Teams
England
1. Ellis Genge, 2. Jamie George, 3. Kyle Sinckler, 4. Maro Itoje, 5. Charlie Ewels, 6. Courtney Lawes (c), 7. Tom Curry, 8. Sam Simmonds, 9. Harry Randall, 10. Marcus Smith, 11. Jack Nowell, 12. Henry Slade, 13. Joe Marchant, 14. Max Malins, 15. Freddie Steward.
Finishers
16. Jamie Blamire, 17. Joe Marler, 18. Will Stuart, 19. Joe Launchbury, 20. Alex Dombrandt, 21. Ben Youngs, 22. George Ford, 23. Elliot Daly.
Ireland
Here's how the visitors line up...
Stats & Facts
England have won four of their last five home games against Ireland in the Guinness Six Nations.
In a run dating back to 2012, England have won 22 of their last 25 Guinness Six Nations matches at home (D1, L2).
Ireland have averaged 12.3 entries into the opposition 22 per game in the 2022 Guinness Six Nations, the second best rate of any side (France 12.7), whilst their average of 2.9 points per visit is the best of any side in the Championship this year.
Ireland are the only side yet to lose a scrum on their own feed in the 2022 Guinness Six Nations, winning all 19 of their scrums so far with none of those being reset; they have also stolen more opposition lineouts (7) than any other side, 18% of the lineouts they have ‘defended’.
Marcus Smith is the leading points scorer in the 2022 Guinness Six Nations on 48 points, two more points and he’d be the fifth England player to notch up 50 in an edition of the Championship (Jonny Wilkinson seven times, Toby Flood once, Owen Farrell six times, George Ford once).
Freddie Steward has carried the ball for more metres (367) than any other player in the 2022 Guinness Six Nations.
England duo Maro Itoje and Alex Dombrandt have made more breakdown steals (4 each) than anyone else in the 2022 Guinness Six Nations.
Views from camp
Maro Itoje: “I always love playing Ireland, I love playing their talented team. They’ve had some of the best performances in the past five years or so against big opposition. I enjoy playing them and the challenge and everything that comes with it.”
Joe Marler:
Freddie Steward: “I think it’s been a brilliant way to look at it for us, it gives us something to attack, giving it that semi-final nature and knockout feel. If we win this game obviously we take it to the next one, but all eyes are on Ireland for the minute, we’re attacking this semi-final and that’s what we’re focused on.”
Previous encounters
2021 | Ireland 32 - 18 England
2020 | England 18 - 7 Ireland
2020 | England 24 - 12 Ireland
2019 | England 57 - 15 Ireland
2019 | Ireland 20 - 32 England
