Ireland set for 'ultimate test'

INTERVIEW: Ireland captain Caelan Doris expects his side to face the “ultimate test” when they launch their bid for an unprecedented third successive Six Nations title against England in Dublin on Saturday.

The Irish have won four of the past five meetings with their old rivals, and England go into the game having suffered a poor 2024, during which they lost seven out of 12 Tests.

But a rare England highlight last year came when they denied Ireland a Grand Slam with a thrilling 23-22 win at Twickenham in the fourth round of the Six Nations.

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“It’s always the ultimate test against these guys [England],” Doris said at Lansdowne Road on Friday.

“There’s a rich history and a massive rivalry there over the last number of years.

“We’d had a pretty good run [last year], fourth round going in over there and there was a lot of belief. We also respected them massively and knew that there was a big performance brewing for them.

“They hadn’t gone so well at that point but you look back six months before that and they’re in a World Cup semifinal.”

England lost three Tests in a row at Twickenham in November but their defeats by New Zealand and Australia were desperately close affairs, with 26-year-old Leinster No.8 Doris braced for a gruelling contest against Steve Borthwick’s men.

“It’s similar now in that they’ve been on the wrong side of some of their results in the autumn but we have massive respect for them as a team and the quality in their squad,” he said.

“They are always very abrasive, confrontational, strong set-piece, very good line-out and maul and they maul more than most teams. Starting here in Dublin against England, it doesn’t get much better or bigger than this.”

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‘Confident’ Prendergast

Interim Ireland coach Simon Easterby has selected the 21-year-old Sam Prendergast at fly-half instead of Jack Crowley in his first match deputising for Andy Farrell, now on secondment to the British and Irish Lions ahead of the combined side’s tour of Australia.

Prendergast made his Test debut as a replacement in Ireland’s win against Argentina in November before starting the subsequent victories over Fiji and Australia.

“It’s been a good ride for him and he’s a very confident guy and loves controlling the forwards, loves playing what’s in front of him, so there’s a lot of faith in him,” said Doris of his Leinster team-mate.

No side have won three consecutive Six Nations titles in a row since the competition was expanded 25 years ago and Doris, who succeeded Peter O’Mahony as Ireland captain ahead of the November campaign, is well aware of the prize at stake.

“We don’t want to get ahead of ourselves, definitely, but we also realise that getting this weekend right is a crucial step if we want to go and do something special like that,” he said.