skip to main content

Women's Six Nations - England v Ireland: All you need to know

Ireland were beaten 48-0 in last season's game
Ireland were beaten 48-0 in last season's game

Ireland face a daunting task as they head to Twickenham in round four of the Guinness Women's Six Nations.

The hosts, who are expecting a crowd of around 45,000, have never lost to Ireland on their home turf and are on a 27-game winning run in the championship.

Expectations for a shock result are low, but Scott Bemand and his players will aim to put in a performance to back up last week's maiden victory over Wales.

Find out all you need to know about the game here.

RADIO

Live commentary on Saturday Sport on RTÉ Radio 1.

ONLINE

Follow live updates on rte.ie/sport and the RTÉ News app.

TV

The game is live on Virgin Media and BBC2.

WEATHER

Light clouds are forecast over London for the game, with temperatures around 11C in a moderate breeze.

Ireland come into the game boosted by a first championship win in two years.

They finished last season bottom of the pile without even a single bonus point to their name but, after winning the WVX3 last October, have steadily improved under Bemand, who spent eight seasons as an assistant with the Red Roses.

They got out of France with a respectable 38-17 loss but fell to a frustrating defeat to Italy (21-27) in round two. However, it all clicked against Wales last weekend and they ran in five fine tries in a 36-5 win.

England's numbers, however, are extremely discouraging for the visitors.

They haven't lost a Six Nations game since 2018 and have held Ireland scoreless in their last three meetings, racking up 144 points and 23 tries.

This season has been no different and they've shutout both Italy (0-48) and Scotland (0-46), while Wales managed just one try in a 46-10 defeat in round two.

John Mitchell's side played with 14 women for almost half the game in Edinburgh but still Scotland couldn't lay a glove on the visitors, for whom hooker Amy Cokayne is suspended as a result of her sending off.

Co-captain Sam Monaghan misses out for Ireland with Hannah O'Connor taking her place in the second row, while Aoife Dalton comes in for Enya Breen in the centre.

England also make two changes to their side with captain Marlie Packer restored at flanker with Zoe Aldcroft going to the second row. Lark Atkin-Davies returns at hooker.

Clíodhna Moloney is the only surviving panel member from Ireland's only previous visit to Twickenham, a 33-11 loss in 2018.


TEAMS

England: Ellie Kildunne; Abby Dow, Megan Jones, Tatyana Heard, Jess Breach; Holly Aitchison, Natasha Hunt; Hannah Botterman, Lark Atkin-Davies, Maud Muir; Zoe Aldcroft, Rosie Galligan; Sadia Kabeya, Marlie Packer (capt), Alex Matthews.

Replacements: Connie Powell, Mackenzie Carson, Kelsey Clifford, Morwenna Talling, Maddie Feaunati, Lucy Packer, Emily Scarratt, Sydney Gregson.

Ireland: Lauren Delany; Katie Corrigan, Eve Higgins, Aoife Dalton, Béibhinn Parsons; Dannah O'Brien, Aoibheann Reilly; Linda Djougang, Neve Jones, Christy Haney; Dorothy Wall, Hannah O'Connor; Aoife Wafer, Edel McMahon (capt), Brittany Hogan.

Replacements: Clíodhna Moloney, Niamh O’Dowd, Sadhbh McGrath, Fiona Tuite, Shannon Ikahihifo, Molly Scuffil-McCabe, Enya Breen, Méabh Deely.


OFFICIALS

Referee: Aurélie Groizeleau (FFR)
Assistant Referee 1: Doriane Domenjo (FFR)
Assistant Referee 2: Adele Robert (BEL)
TMO: Rachel Horton (RA)


WHAT THEY SAID

John Mitchell (England head coach): "We are excited for the opportunity of another crack at Twickenham in front of our awesome fans. We want to continue to get better in our game and make the most of the experience to benefit us in the future."

Scott Bemand (Ireland head coach): "There's a bunch of experience we're going to get out of this. We'll just put our best performance out there, go fire some shots and see what a result looks like at the end of that."


LAST FIVE MEETINGS

2023: Ireland 0-48 England, Musgrave Park, Cork

2022: England 69-0 Ireland, Welford Road, Leicester

2020: England 27-0 Ireland, Castle Park, Doncaster

2019: Ireland 7-51 England, Energia Park, Dublin

2018 England 33-11 Ireland, Ricoh Arena, Coventry


Elsewhere, Italy host Scotland in Parma at 4.45pm (Irish time) on Saturday, while France are in Wales for a 3.15pm kick-off on Sunday.

Listen to the RTÉ Rugby podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts.

Watch a URC double-header, Emirates Lions v Leinster and Vodacom Bulls v Munster, on Saturday from 1.30pm on RTÉ2 and RTÉ Player. Listen to updates on Saturday Sport on RTÉ Radio 1

Read Next