Preview: Ireland v England
Everything you need to know ahead of England's Summer Series fixture against Ireland in Dublin.
Six changes have been made to the starting line up that beat Wales 19-17 last weekend. Ben Youngs, George Ford, Anthony Watson, Ellis Genge, Manu Tuilagi and David Ribbans enter the first XV, while Courtney Lawes is named captain of the side on the occasion of his 99th Test cap.
| When? | Saturday, 19 August |
| Where? | Aviva Stadium |
| Kick off | 17:30 BST |
| Where can I watch? | Amazon Prime |
Having made his 50th Test appearance last weekend from the bench, loosehead prop Genge is named in the starting front row alongside Jamie George and Will Stuart.
Ribbans will join Maro Itoje in the second row, while Lawes skippers the side from the flank. Ben Earl and Billy Vunipola complete the starting forward pack.
In the backs, Youngs and Ford are the starting half backs for the 61st time in a Test match. Meanwhile, Tuilagi and Joe Marchant combine in the centres. Watson enters the fray on the right wing, while Elliot Daly starts on the left. Freddie Steward is the starting full back.
Theo Dan, Joe Marler and Kyle Sinckler are the front row replacements. Ollie Chessum returns to the match day 23 for the first time since the 2023 Guinness Six Nations after recovering from an ankle injury. Jack Willis, Danny Care, Marcus Smith and Ollie Lawrence are also named on the bench.
VIEWS FROM CAMP
Steve Borthwick: "I'm looking forward to seeing this team go out on Saturday. It's a good team and we have a fantastic captain leading us out there. Every game for England is special and I can't wait to see this team play. This squad is a resilient group of men.
"We're going to need that strength on Saturday because it's going to test us, but it's something we're looking forward to. The team has worked hard again this week, we've had some challenging training this week and players have really progressed through."
TEAMS
England
15. Freddie Steward, 14. Anthony Watson, 13. Joe Marchant, 12. Manu Tuilagi, 11. Elliot Daly, 10. George Ford, 9. Ben Youngs, 1. Ellis Genge, 2. Jamie George, 3. Will Stuart, 4. Maro Itoje, 5. David Ribbans, 6. Courtney Lawes (C), 7. Ben Earl, 8. Billy Vunipola
Replacements
16. Theo Dan, 17. Joe Marler, 18. Kyle Sinckler, 19. Ollie Chessum, 20. Jack Willis, 21. Danny Care, 22. Marcus Smith, 23. Ollie Lawrence
Ireland
15. Hugo Keenan, 14. Mack Hansen, 13. Garry Ringrose, 12. Bundee Aki, 11. James Lowe, 10. Ross Byrne, 9. Jamison Gibson-Park, 1. Andrew Porter, 2. Dan Sheehan, 3. Tadhg Furlong, 4. Tadhg Beirne, 5. James Ryan (C), 6. Peter O'Mahony, 7. Josh van der Flier, 8. Cian Prendergast
Replacements
16. Rob Herring, 17. Jeremy Loughman, 18. Finlay Bealham, 19. Joe McCarthy, 20. Caelan Doris, 21. Conor Murray, 22. Jack Crowley, 23. Keith Earls
STATS
England have gone on to win 29 of the last 32 Test matches in which they led at half-time.
Ireland have won each of their last 11 Test matches, their second longest winning run in Test rugby; they could equal their longest such run with victory against England, having previously won 12 straight Tests between 2017 and 2018.
Ireland have won their last three Test matches against England after losing each of their previous four, however, they haven’t won four in a row against England since 2004-2007. The team leading at half-time has gone on to win each of the last 18 matches between these two sides.
Ireland have mauled on 58 occasions in 2023, more than any other Tier 1 nation, however it is England who have gained the most metres (107) and scored the most tries (4) directly from mauls this calendar year.
PREVIOUS ENCOUNTERS
2023: Ireland 29-16 England
2022: England 15-32 Ireland
2021: Ireland 32-18 England
2020: England 18-7 Ireland
2020: England 24-12 Ireland
2019: England 57-15 Ireland
FIXTURES AND RESULTS
Summer Series
Ireland v England - 19 August - Dublin
England v Fiji - 26 August - Twickenham
Rugby World Cup 2023
England v Argentina - 9 September - Marseille
England v Japan - 17 September - Nice
England v Chile - 23 September - Lille
England v Samoa - 7 October - Lille
Related topics
- Attack
- T - Tries
- M - Metres carried
- C - Carries
- DB - Defenders beaten
- CB - Clean breaks
- P - Passes
- O - Offloads
- TC - Turnovers conceded
- TA - Try assists
- PTS - Points
- Defence
- Tackles - Tackles
- MT - Missed tackles
- TW - Turnovers won
- Kicking
- K - Kicks in play
- C - Conversions
- PG - Penalty goals
- DG - Drop goals
- Set plays
- TW - Throws won
- LW - Lineouts won
- LS - Lineout steals
- Discipline
- PC - Penalties conceded
- RC - Red cards
- YC - Yellow cards
England defeated by Ireland in Dublin
Ireland denied Steve Borthwick's men with a 29-10 victory at the Aviva Stadium in Dublin.
An early George Ford penalty gave England the early advantage, but two first-half tries from Bundee Aki and Garry Ringrose gave Ireland a 12-3 lead at the break. Kyle Sinckler crashed over for his try in the second half, but further Irish tries from James Lowe, Mack Hansen and Keith Earls confirmed the defeat.
Ford wasted no time getting England on the board early in the contest after Ireland were caught infringing at a ruck directly in front of their own posts, but a swift response from the Irish opened the door for Aki to score the first try of the game soon after. A line break from Peter O'Mahony meant a simple offload was all that was needed for the inside centre to run in for the five points.
The ensuing exchanges saw both sides looking to test each other's defensive lines with looping runs and probing aerial attacks. It was in the closing minutes of the first half when Mack Hansen found space for Ringrose to touch down for the home side's second try.
Hansen kicked cross field to his outside centre on the wing, who stepped off his right foot to beat Freddie Steward and dive for the line. Byrne's missed conversion meant England headed to the changing room just nine points behind at the break.
The Match Centre highlighted Ellis Genge as a standout performer in the first forty; The loose head prop beat four defenders with his three carries for a total of 20 metres. In defence, David Ribbans topped the half time tackle charts with seven interventions and one turnover.
Borthwick's men went down to 14 men shortly after the 50-minute mark after Billy Vunipola was shown a yellow card - which was later upgraded to a red card - for his challenge on Ireland's Andrew Porter. The resulting set piece attack exposed the gap in England's defence and Byrne was able to find Lowe out wide for the score on the left flank.
Hansen got in on the scoring with a try of his own ten minutes later as Ireland continued to exploit the stretched England line. A looping Byrne pass over the head of Steward found the Connacht wing with an unobstructed route to the whitewash.
Despite the unfavourable scoreline, fresh bodies in Danny Care, Theo Dan, Marcus Smith and Ollie Lawrence looked to inject some impetus. But it was Sinckler who provided impact in the form of a try. Care's quick-tap penalty parked his side firmly inside the Irish red zone and the power of the tight head replacement converted the opportunity into five points.
Celebrations, however, were short-lived as Ireland responded almost immediately. Earls, on the occasion of his 100th Test cap, crossed acrobatically in the left corner to seal the deal for Andy Farrell's men with a fifth and final try in the closing minutes.
England will play their final Summer Series fixture at home next Saturday when they host Fiji at Twickenham (15:15).
TEAMS
England
15. Freddie Steward, 14. Anthony Watson, 13. Joe Marchant, 12. Manu Tuilagi, 11. Elliot Daly, 10. George Ford, 9. Ben Youngs, 1. Ellis Genge, 2. Jamie George, 3. Will Stuart, 4. Maro Itoje, 5. David Ribbans, 6. Courtney Lawes (C), 7. Ben Earl, 8. Billy Vunipola
Replacements
16. Theo Dan, 17. Joe Marler, 18. Kyle Sinckler, 19. Ollie Chessum, 20. Jack Willis, 21. Danny Care, 22. Marcus Smith, 23. Ollie Lawrence
Ireland
15. Hugo Keenan, 14. Mack Hansen, 13. Garry Ringrose, 12. Bundee Aki, 11. James Lowe, 10. Ross Byrne, 9. Jamison Gibson-Park, 1. Andrew Porter, 2. Dan Sheehan, 3. Tadhg Furlong, 4. Tadhg Beirne, 5. James Ryan (C), 6. Peter O'Mahony, 7. Josh van der Flier, 8. Cian Prendergast
Replacements
16. Rob Herring, 17. Jeremy Loughman, 18. Finlay Bealham, 19. Joe McCarthy, 20. Caelan Doris, 21. Conor Murray, 22. Jack Crowley, 23. Keith Earls
FIXTURES AND RESULTS
Summer Nations Series
Ireland 29 - 10 England
26 August - England v Fiji - Twickenham Stadium
Rugby World Cup 2023
9 September - England v Argentina - Marseille
17 September - England v Japan - Nice
23 September - England v Chile - Lille
7 October - England v Samoa - Lille
