England will be looking to derail Irish hopes of a Grand Slam when the sides meet on Saturday evening at HQ.
2024 Six Nations – England v Ireland
Saturday 9 March 2024 – 18:45
Twickenham
These games tend to be feisty old affairs, evident when they met last year and tempers boiled over with Freddie Steward shown a red card just before half-time for a cynical shoulder charge.
We can expect more fireworks at Rugby HQ this weekend as the two old foes square off for the 142nd time.
To Win Match
England 15/4 | Draw 33/1 | Ireland 1/5
Handicap
England (+12.5) 9/10 | Ireland (-12.5) 9/10
It’s starting to become the moment every English dreads in the opening third of the year: a Six Nations clash with old foes Ireland. The men in green have reigned supreme over their English foes for the last few years with Ireland’s last loss to the English coming back in February 2020.
The statistics point towards the trend continuing this week with Ireland having gone three from three in the Six Nations, whilst the English are two from three having yet to play Ireland or France.
Andy Farrell’s men have truly set the standard this term beating France 17-38 in Round 1, Italy 36-0 in Round 2, and Wales 31-7 Round 3. They’re currently averaging 35 points scored per game and their concession rate is sitting at an average of just 15 per match. Those stats tell the tale of a side that has been unrivalled thus far in the Championship.
While England have managed to bag two wins from their first three games, those two victories were far from impressive with Steve Borthwick’s men avoiding a first loss to Italy by the skin of their teeth as they staged a second-half comeback to beat the Azzurri 24-27. They then managed to avoid defeat against an inexperienced Welsh outfit by an even narrower margin as they beat the young Dragons 16-14 at Twickenham.
Their luck would run out in Round 3, however, as Duhan van der Merve and his Scottish compatriots would put an end to England’s hopes of a Grand Slam and all but end their title challenge with the burly South African bagging a hat-trick as his side ran out 30-21 victors in Glasgow.
While most – myself included – have ruled out England’s chances of stopping Ireland’s assault on back-to-back Grand Slams, there are some pundits who are backing a big English showing this weekend.
While I give them no chance against the Irish, perhaps the return of fly-half Marcus Smith has got English fans excited. The Harlequins star is yet to make an appearance in this year’s Six Nations, which has been a major letdown for Borthwick as it seems he is ready to give Smith the keys to English backline and mould his team around him. Smith could well be joined in the halves by Northampton’s Alex Mitchell, with the 26-year-old also returning from injury.
On the Irish injury front, it seems they have a mostly clean bill of health headed into this clash.
Verdict: Ireland (-12.5) 9/10
Ireland are a class above this term and even with Smith returning, I can’t see England causing them any problems. I actually expect them to claim a bonus point win which will see them secure the Championship with a round to spare.
