Six Nations Preview: Red Roses v Ireland
Everything you need to know ahead fof the Red Roses' Twickenham showdown with Ireland on Saturday
England scored eight tries in their 0-48 victory over Italy in Parma before hosting Wales at Bristol's Ashton Gate Stadium a week later. They finished the game 46-10 winners to claim their spot at the top of the Guinness Women's Six Nations table. A trip to Edinburgh after the fallow week saw another eight-try victory for John Mitchell's side; Ellie Kildunne scored a brace for the third game running as England defeated Scotland 0-46.
| When? | Saturday 20 April |
| Where? | Twickenham Stadium |
| Kick off | 14:15 BST |
| Where can I watch? | BBC Two |
- Red Roses team to face Ireland
- Sadia Kabeya's Six Nations Column | Ireland Week
- Lights, Camera, Action!
- Hats off to Hunt
A return to Twickenham Stadium awaits the Red Roses on Saturday as they prepare to host Ireland in their second standalone senior women's fixture at the home of England Rugby. They last ran out in the stadium one year ago to secure a 2023 Six Nations Grand Slam against France.
VIEWS FROM CAMP
Sarah Hunter: "We're at the business end of the tournament now and it's been really exciting knowing that we're heading back to the home of England Rugby and knowing that there are over 45,000 fans coming to watch.
"Scott has come in to the Ireland setup and really added some direction and organisation on both sides of the ball. They will prove a tough side to break down but we've got a plan of where we think we can get to them and how we can put pressure onto them. You saw how our attack game to life in Scotland in really difficult conditions and we're hoping to build on that and fix some of the soft errors that stuttered us a little bit. We know that we're going to have to be patient but we have identified a few areas that we can break them down.
"It was such an incredible experience last year to see all the fans at Twickenham and seeing the girls running out. It was quite emotional to see just how far the game has come. To be able to share in the experience in allowing our brilliant Red Roses to shine on the biggest stage and inspire the next generation is one of the reasons you coach. It's days like these that you get to see how far the game has grown."
John Mitchell: "We’re definitely wanting to become a better attacking team. The backs play their part and the forwards play their part too. I think the try that Abby Dow scored last weekend is a classic example of everyone being involved in attack. Sometimes people get solely involved in who’s scoring tries, but what’s more important to us is who’s contributing off the ball in those situations. I think we’re developing trust in our passing as well, so all of those factors will contribute to a better attack and that’s really our ultimate objective.
"The experience that some of girls have from coming to Twickenham and playing there before will be a factor. There are a lot of distractions, so we've got to keep our eyes on the road to make sure we stick to our game and our processes so we can enjoy what surrounds us while staying focused on getting the job done."
Marlie Packer: "Every time we get on the pitch we want to put on a performance and play our best rugby. I think, for us that’s something we’re super proud of. Sometimes we can come away from a big win but we’re still not happy because, as a squad, we’re all about our performance being better. This weekend is another chance to give our best game and hopefully all the fans will enjoy it as much as we do.
"We’re really excited for the weekend. Coming off the back of last week there’s nothing better than having a home game, but also having it at Twickenham with over 45,000 tickets sold. I can’t wait to get out there on Saturday.
Tatyana Heard: "It's so good to see teams growing. Ireland have been developing across the year and you can see that by how well they did in WXV. To bring that into the Six Nations is massive for them and it's great to see how the game is growing. We've looked at what we need to do this week and we're really excited for the challenge."
LAST TIME OUT
Last year's Six Nations encounter between Ireland and England saw Simon Middleton's Red Roses keep their opponents scoreless as they ran in eight tries at Cork's Musgrave Park. Sarah Beckett, Tatyana Heard, Ellie Kildunne, Marlie Packer, Morwenna Talling and Amber Reed each scored once as Alex Matthews scored a second-half brace.
STATS
England have won each of their last 27 Guinness Women's Six Nations matches, the longest ever winning run by any side in the history of the men's or women's Championships - the Red Roses have averaged 50 points per game during that run.
England have won each of their last 20 Guinness Women's Six Nations home games and have scored 38+ points in each of their last six- the Red Roses' have an average winning margin of 37 points across those 20 matches.
England have won 19 of their previous 21 matches against Ireland in the Guinness Women's Six Nations (L2), including all 11 of their encounters on English soil - the Red Roses have held Ireland scoreless in each of their last three meetings in the Championship.
Ellie Kildunne has already scored six tries in this year's Guinness Women's Six Nations, three times as many as any other player, having scored a brace in each of England's three games so far - Kildunne also leads the Championship in terms of carry metres (441) and line breaks (7) this year.
PREVIOUS ENCOUNTERS
2023: Ireland 0-48 England
2022: England 69-0 Ireland
2020: England 27-0 Ireland
2019: Ireland 7-51 England
2018: England 37-15 Ireland
2018: England 33-11 Ireland
2017: Ireland 7-34 England
2016: Ireland 10-12 England
HALF TIME SHOW
This year's Twickenham showdown will include a half time performance from British pop star Sophie Ellix-Bextor. Ellis-Bextor has achieved worldwide fame throughout her illustrious career and has recently experienced a return to the charts following the inclusion of her music in the BAFTA Nominated film, Saltburn (2023). Having made her UK Official Chart debut in 2001, she has gone on to release six top 10 singles in the UK charts including fan favourites such as “Murder On The Dancefloor”, “Take Me Home” and “Mixed Up World”, achieving multi-platinum selling status.
- 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
Rampant Red Roses beat Ireland at Twickenham
Abby Dow and Ellie Kildunne scored hat-tricks as England beat Ireland 88-10 to keep their Grand Slam bid on course.
Natasha Hunt, Megan Jones (2), Zoe Aldcroft, Jess Breach (2), Sadia Kabeya and Maddie Feaunati also crossed as a bumper Twickenham crowd were treated to a superb display.
John Mitchell’s side have now won 28 consecutive Six Nations matches and travel to Bordeaux next Saturday to face France with the title on the line – though the defence of the Red Roses’ crown will be secure on Sunday if Wales beat France.
England were straight into their groove against Ireland and needed less than seven minutes to open the scoring, Dow finding space in a tight corner on the right to evade several tackles and open the scoring.
A trademark Hunt break into the Irish 22 started the hosts’ next attack and the scrum-half was later on hand to finish off the move she had started, sniping over from close range with Holly Aitchison adding the extras.
Meg Jones hit an unstoppable line for the Red Roses’ third and Zoe Aldcroft ensured the bonus point was in the bag inside the first quarter by charging over from 40 metres out following a devastating break.
There was no let-up from the home side and Kildunne soon crossed after quick hands deep inside visiting territory.
Kildunne turned provider four minutes before the break, sending Dow free in the corner for her second of the afternoon shortly after the wing had seen a score disallowed for spilling the ball when grounding.
A similar fate befell Jones, who saw her effort ruled out for a forward pass with the last action of a first half which saw England beat 37 defenders from their 86 carries, Kildunne leading the charge by beating 12 defenders and making 158 metres, according to statistics from The Match Centre.
Mitchell’s side started the second half as they had ended the first and were straight on the front foot, Breach sprinting clear down the left touchline to add her name to the scoresheet on 43 minutes.
Sadia Kabeya powered over to take England past the half century mark and though Ireland responded with a penalty try which saw Lucy Packer sent to the sin-bin, Jones quickly added her second try while the hosts were a player light.
Dow’s hat-trick score was England at their ruthless best, as an Ireland overthrow at the lineout inside the home side’s 22 was swiftly put through the hands for the wing to streak clear and dot down on the right.
England’s back three remained in irresistible mood and after Breach latched on to an Aitchison grubber kick for her second, Kildunne finished off a neat training ground move to complete her hat-trick.
There was still time for Maddie Feaunati to score her first Red Roses try late on and put the seal on a complete performance which delighted the 48,778 in attendance.
Teams
England
15 Ellie Kildunne, 14 Abby Dow, 13 Megan Jones, 12 Tatyana Heard, 11 Jess Breach, 10 Holly Aitchison, 9 Natasha Hunt; 1 Hannah Botterman, 2 Lark Atkin-Davies, 3 Maud Muir, 4 Zoe Aldcroft, 5 Rosie Galligan, 6 Sadia Kabeya, 7 Marlie Packer, 8 Alex Matthews
Replacements
16 Connie Powell, 17 Mackenzie Carson, 18 Kelsey Clifford, 19 Morwenna Talling, 20 Maddie Feaunati, 21 Lucy Packer, 22 Emily Scarratt, 23 Sydney Gregson
Ireland
15 Lauren Delany, 14 Katie Corrigan, 13 Eve Higgins, 12 Aoife Dalton, 11 Béibhinn Parsons, 10 Dannah O'Brien, 9 Aoibheann Reilly; 1 Linda Djougang, 2 Neve Jones, 3 Christy Haney, 4 Dorothy Wall, 5 Hannah O’Connor, 6 Aoife Wafer, 7 Edel McMahon (c), 8 Brittany Hogan.
Replacements
16 Clíodhna Moloney, 17 Niamh O'Dowd, 18 Sadhbh McGrath, 19 Fiona Tuite, 20 Shannon Ikahihifo, 21 Molly Scuffil-McCabe, 22 Enya Breen, 23 Meabh Deely.
