England v Ireland: Six Nations 2024 – live

Reading while you wait

I’ve gone full “don’t back down, double down” with my preamble prediction – and I’ve already come a cropper with Italy today. I fully expect you to chuck pelters my way via E-pelter or @bloodandmud

The 2025 Six Nations fixtures have been announced – with England heading to Dublin on the opening weekend.

Quick Guide

England to open against Ireland in next year's Six Nations

Show

England will open their 2025 Six Nations campaign by tackling Ireland in Dublin. The competition begins on the evening of Friday 31 January with France facing Wales in Paris, while England play the following day, when Scotland take on Italy at Murrayfield.

England then host France, Scotland and Italy, before meeting Wales in Cardiff on the competition's final day.

Ireland's run of fixtures, meanwhile, sees them travel to Scotland and Wales after the England match, then France visit Dublin before a finale against Italy in Rome.

2025 Six Nations fixtures (kick-off times GMT)
31 Jan France v Wales (8.15pm)
1 Feb Scotland v Italy (2.15pm), Ireland v England (4.45pm)
8 Feb Italy v Wales (2.15pm), England v France (4.45pm)
9 Feb Scotland v Ireland (3pm)
22 Feb Wales v Ireland (2.15pm), England v Scotland (4.45pm)
23 Feb Italy v France (3pm)
8 Mar Ireland v France (2.15pm), Scotland v Wales (4.45pm)
9 Mar England v Italy (3pm)
15 Mar Italy v Ireland (2.15pm), Wales v England (4.45pm), France v Scotland (8pm)

Photograph: Dan Sheridan/Rex Features

Steve Borthwick has made changes after the loss v Scotland. Alex Mitchell returns from injury and there’s a first full start for Immanuel Feyi-Waboso in the backs; while the retention of Furbank at fullback suggests the more nuanced approach taken in the good bits in Edinburgh is to be continued. In the forwards, Ollie Chessum moves to blindside to accommodate the return of his Leicester team-mate George Martin to the second row.

Ireland’s only major change is to restore Hugo Keenan immediately to the fullback berth after his short injury lay off. Otherwise the starting XV is as you were and forever will be.

England: George Furbank; Immanuel Feyi-Waboso, Henry Slade, Ollie Lawrence, Tommy Freeman; George Ford, Alex Mitchell; Ellis Genge, Jamie George, Dan Cole, Maro Itoje, George Martin, Ollie Chessum, Sam Underhill, Ben Earl.

Replacements: Theo Dan, Joe Marler, Will Stuart, Chandler Cunningham-South, Alex Dombrandt, Danny Care, Marcus Smith, Elliot Daly.

Ireland: Hugo Keenan; Calvin Nash, Robbie Henshaw, Bundee Aki, James Lowe; Jack Crowley, Jamison Gibson-Park; Andrew Porter, Dan Sheehan, Tadhg Furlong, Joe McCarthy, Tadhg Beirne, Peter O’Mahony, Josh van der Flier, Caelan Doris.

Replacements: Ronan Kelleher, Cian Healy, Finlay Bealham, Iain Henderson, Ryan Baird, Jack Conan, Conor Murray, Ciaran Frawley.

Cast your mind back to late winter in the early months of 2019. Only a few certain people in specific jobs knew what PPE stood for, the Patriots are still winning SuperBowls and Joe Schmidt’s Ireland are about to lose to Eddie Jones’s England. At least that’s what the so-called experts said in the run up to that match, before an opening 10 minute blitz from the English knocked the men in green into a stupor from which they could not recover, eventually going down 32-20. And England managed all that in Dublin.

So, given that today’s match is at Twickenham, and the home side have shown they can dish out a bloody nose against the odds on the road, then there is some hope it can be repeated today, surely? Hope springs infernal. So very, very infernal.

Put these romantic thoughts from your mind. This is Andy Farrell’s Ireland, they don’t do romance. Unless your idea of romance is being methodically made to feel inferior in every aspect of your performance until all that’s left is to crumple slowly backwards into your chair to suckle, glassy eyed, on an energy drink.

I realise this is tempting fate of a huge number of “this aged well” posts from the most boring people on the internet in a few hours. It’s a risk I am willing to accept. And I am very risk averse person.