We have an England v Ireland prediction for you plus a breakdown of the betting odds, team news and matchups ahead of the 4th round of Six Nations fixtures.
How To Watch England v Ireland
When is England v Ireland
4.45 pm, Saturday, March 9th
TV Channel
ITV 1 and RTÉ 2
Live Stream
In Ireland, you can livestream the game on RTÉ Player.
Those in the UK can stream England v Ireland on ITVX.
Who are the officiating team?
Referee: Nika Amashukeli (GRU)
Assistant Referees: Andrea Piardi (FIR), Craig Evans (WRU)
TMO: Ben Whitehouse (WRU)
Where is England v Ireland Being Played
Twickenham Stadium, London
England v Ireland Odds
| Team | Odds | Chance |
|---|---|---|
| England | 10/3 | 23.1% |
| Ireland | 2/9 | 81.8% |
| Draw | 25/1 | 3.8% |
England despite the Twickenham factor are 10/3 outsiders for this game with Ireland heavy 2/9 favourites per the latest rugby odds at BoyleSports. If you fancy the draw that can be gotten at 25/1.
Handicap Betting
England: +12 @ 10/11
Ireland -12 @ 10/11
Handicap Draw: -12 @ 10/11
Click Below For Our Live England v Ireland Odds
Team News
England Team News
Marcus Smith and Alex Mitchell have returned to the squad ahead of the game against Ireland with the former yet to play a minute in this tournament so far.
Mitchell's return means Harry Randall is left out with Wing Immanuel Feyi-Waboso also returning to the squad after missing last week's training camp because of an exam
Ireland Team News
Ireland have had some positive news ahead of their game against England with Hugo Keenan (knee), Garry Ringrose (shoulder), Iain Henderson (toe) and Oli Jager (knee) all participating in the latest training session.
England v Ireland Weather Forecast
Ideals conditions for rugby are expected on Saturday afternoon, with no rain and little wind forecasted.
Temperature
The temperature is predicted to be between 11-12°C throughout the game.
Wind
There is expected to be a very light breeze in the region of 10 km/h a
Rain
There is expected to be 2mm on Saturday, but that is likely to occur after the game.
England v Ireland Preview
England's Form
England opened their RWC campaign with a 27-10 victory against Argentina and while they were underwhelming at times, they quietly went about their business topping Pool D before defeating Fiji 30-24 in the Quarter-Final. They narrowly lost in the Semi-Final 15-16 to South Africa before beating Argentina again this time in the Bronze Final 23-26.
In the opening round of the Six Nations England overcame an Italian scare in their opening Six Nations fixture winning in Italy to a 24-27 scoreline with Italy grabbing a losing bonus point for their 3-try effort, which was more than England’s 2. Had it not been for a poor second-half showing Italy could’ve had their first-ever victory against the English, nevertheless in their typical stoic fashion in recent months was enough to see Steve Borthwick's side win.
In their second game against Wales, they earned another hard-fought 16-14 to continue their unbeaten start to the Six Nations, before finally coming unstuck against the Scots two weeks ago when they were defeated 30-21 in Murrayfield.
Ireland's Form
Ireland entered the 2023 Rugby World Cup as the World Number 1 side, and despite another Quarter-final stage exit, they remain in the top two in the world rankings behind only World Cup winners South Africa.
Ireland topped their pool at the tournament, including a brilliant 8-13 victory against the aforementioned winners South Africa. However, it was a painful exit again in the Quarter-finals, losing out to New Zealand 24-28 in a classic. The All Blacks went on to lose the final 11-12.
Ireland opened their Six Nations title success on the opening night with a brilliant 17-38 win against France which saw them establish themselves as favourites for the competition alongside being favourites for the Grand Slam.
That French victory was followed by a routine 36-0 victory against Italy and a 31-7 win against Wales two weeks ago which kept their Grand Slam aspirations alive and well ahead of their trip to Twickenham this coming Saturday.
England Attack v Ireland Defence
England, despite their bronze showing at the most recent RWC, are in a period of transition and in particular struggles to put points on the board. In their opening game against Italy, they were outscored in the try tally 3 to 2 with the English tries coming from Elliot Daly and Alex Mitchell. That was followed by their victory over Wales where they scored 16 points and 2 tries through Earl and Dingwall.
Their most recent defeat against Scotland came with a 21-point total including tries from Furbank and Feyi-Waboso. Their average points for total of 21 is the third highest of the tournament behind Ireland's 35 and Scotland's 24.
However, they’re due to come up against the strongest defense in the tournament Ireland who have conceded 24 points in the tournament an average of 8 points per game. To put their dominance in perspective the other teams’ totals are Scotland (67), England (68), France (67), Wales (74) and Italy (76).
Ireland Attack v England Defence
Ireland at the RWC had a solid attack by all accounts with their 221-point total across 5 matches only bettered by New Zealand's 336 and France who had 238 in 5 games. Their total was even more than RWC Champions South Africa’s total of 208.
That form has continued into this tournament with 105 points scored an average of 35 points per game so far along with an average of 5 tries per game. That domination has seen them secure winning bonus points in all their matches.
England (aside from Ireland) are very close to average defensively with their 68 points conceded only 1 point better than Scotland who have the second-best defence, although Ireland are on a different level with 24 points conceded the remaining 5 teams in the tournament range from 67 points conceded to 76 points conceded showing the tight nature of rest of the teams.
England v Ireland Rugby Head-To-Head
All-Time Head-To-Head Record
Since 1875 both sides have been playing rugby games against one another, with 141 test matches taking place with England winning 80 of them, Ireland 53, and 8 resulting in a draw.
Since the sport turned professional in 1995, the head-to-head is a lot closer. The teams have met 33 times since then with England winning 18 test matches to Ireland's 15.
Head-To-Head Results Last Five Matches
2023: Ireland won 29-10 in Aviva Stadium
2023: Ireland won 29-16 in Aviva Stadium
2022: Ireland won 15-32 in Twickenham Stadium
2021: Ireland won 32-18 in Aviva Stadium
2019: England won 18-7 in Newcastle
Trends
Ireland have won 6 of the last 10 games against England.
Key Players
Marcus Smith – England
The man pundits and English supporters have been clamouring for to wear the #10 jersey is Harlequins Fly-Half/Full-Back Marcus Smith who returns to the squad for the first time in the tournament this week. Smith has 185 points from his 31 England caps mainly playing at #15 but since the departure of Farrell, he’s been tipped for the #10 jersey and certainly looks to have the class and quality needed to do so.
Dan Sheehan – Ireland
The Leinster Hooker (25) has come alive with for his country not just for his performances but also for his try-scoring run. Coming into the tournament Sheehan had 5 tries for his country in 21 test matches, but he has since come alive scoring 4 tries in 3 games this tournament so far with 1 against France, a brace against Italy and one against Wales. Another huge performance is expected from him at the weekend.
England v Ireland Prediction & Best Bet
Prediction: England 10-33 Ireland
England have lost 6 of their last 10 matches against Ireland and with them going through very much of a transition period it’ll be tough for them to keep the scoreboard tight at the weekend. However with the advantage of Twickenham and a packed crowd if there is any game that they could get themselves up for it would be this one.
Ireland despite their disappointment at the Rugby World Cup last year, remain a serious outfit and are now just two victories away from another Grand Slam title. They should have more than enough to beat England barring complacency.
Best Bet: Bundee Aki First Tryscorer @ 12/1
Click Below For Our Live England v Ireland Odds
*Prices subject to fluctuation
Remember, always gamble responsibly . Here’s our Safer Gambling Guide .
