Preview: England v Ireland
Ireland will be in from Dublin to face England in a match that dates back to 1875.
It is a match of great traditions and one that has had its ups and downs, often through intense political disagreement.
Saturday's match will be 131st encounter between the two countries, of which England has won 75, Ireland 47 and eight have been drawn. England had a great start in the series winning the first one at the Oval in London and 15 of the first 17.
They won the first one at Lansdowne Road but drew the first one at Twickenham in 1910.
The first time Ireland won at Twickenham was in 1929. In 47 matches at Twickenham, England have won 30 to 13 with four draws.
There may be some consolation for Ireland in the time of the year. The teams have met four times near the end of February and Ireland has won them all – 43-13 in 2007.
Not that history will matter when these two teams clash in what could be a desperately close affair.
On World Rugby's rankings England are sixth, Ireland eighth with not much between them. At last year's World Cup England infamously went home after the pool matches.
Ireland got as far as the quarterfinals, but were hammered 43-20 by Argentina.
England lost pool matches to Wales and Australia, while Ireland won all its pool matches beating Italy and France most notably.
Since the World Cup, England has had an upheaval, sacking coaches and then grabbing Eddie Jones from the Stormers to become their new coach.
Ireland have continued the even tenor of their ways.
This match may just show whether England is to rise up again or not.
Players to Watch:
For England: Fullback Mike Brown is a brave man and strong, good at fielding the high kick, willing to counterattack with effect. There will be a lot of interest in new man Maro Itoje, London born of Nigerian parents, winner of an academic scholarship to Harrow, a straight-A student, a poet, and a leader, for he played for England in age-group teams, including captaining the side that won the Junior World Championship in New Zealand. He is lively and athletic, different from Joe Launchbury whose hamstring injury gave Itoje a ticket to start the Test. Both England wings – Anthony Watson and Jack Nowell – are hard-working, strong runners. Given half a chance they could cause grievous problems to the Irish defence. In the England pack there is bustling Billy Vunipola, the man who gets more scrumhalf passes than the flyhalf. Will Ireland be able to contain him?
For Ireland: The halfbacks, Jonny Sexton and Conor Murray, play key roles. Both are among the best few in the World in their positions, men who can control a match, rugby alchemists who can turn bad ball into good opportunities. Then there is the Irish South African, CJ Stander, clearly a South African and on the field every inch a brave Irishman, who has had an outstanding start to his international career. Fullback Rob Kearney is also and strong, good at fielding the high kick and willing to counterattack with effect.
Head to head: Mike Brown versus Rob Kearney, fullbacks the width of the field apart but both with the ability to make a telling difference to their team's performance. Owen Farrell, experienced at Test level but less so at inside centre against powerful new cap Stuart McCloskey. Farrell does not shirk but he could find the Ulsterman a handful. Tall Devin Toner against aggressive George Kruis in the line-outs, the loose forward battle and the interesting contest in the front row. Hooker versus hooker, captain versus captain, Dylan Hartley of England versus Rory Best of Ireland, Hartley rugged and not always legal, Best much more mobile and circumspect. Hartley will win the anthems – a New Zealander singing for England with earnest pride. Best, no matter what Irish song is to be sun, preferring rumination of a piece of gum to singing of the four proud provinces of Ireland.
Recent results:
2015: England won 21-13, London
2015: Ireland won 19-9, Dublin
2014: England won 13-10, London
2013: England won 12-6, Dublin
2012: England won 30-9, London
2011: England won 20-9, Dublin
2011: Ireland won 24-8, Dublin
2010: Ireland won 20-16, London
2009: Ireland won 14-13 at Croke Park, Dublin
2008: England won 33-10, London
Prediction: England have a home-ground advantage but it's not far from Dublin to London – some 460km and an hour's flight. So much will depend on how this England team can react to the national disappointment of their World Cup and that changes to their staff. They are likely to be enthusiastic to start with though this may not last for 80 minutes. There is room for surprises but we think that Joe Schmidt's Ireland may just win by two or three points.
Teams
England: 15 Mike Brown, 14 Anthony Watson, 13 Jonathan Joseph, 12 Owen Farrell, 11 Jack Nowell, 10 George Ford, 9 Ben Youngs, 8 Billy Vunipola, 7 James Haskell, 6 Chris Robshaw, 5 George Kruis, 4 Maro Itoje, 3 Dan Cole, 2 Dylan Hartley (captain), 1 Joe Marler.
Replacements: 16 Jamie George, 17 Mako Vunipola, 18 Paul Hill, 19 Courtney Lawes, 20 Jack Clifford, 21 Danny Care, 22 Elliot Daly, 23 Alex Goode.
Ireland: 15 Rob Kearney, 14 Andrew Trimble, 13 Robbie Henshaw, 12 Stuart McCloskey, 11 Keith Earls, 10 Jonathan Sexton, 9 Conor Murray, 8 Jamie Heaslip, 7 Josh van der Flier, 6 CJ Stander, 5 Devin Toner, 4 Donnacha Ryan, 3 Mike Ross, 2 Rory Best (captain), 1 Jack McGrath.
Replacements: 16 Richardt Strauss, 17 Cian Healy, 18 Nathan White, 19 Ultan Dillane, 20 Rhys Ruddock, 21 Eoin Reddan, 22 Ian Madigan, 23 Simon Zebo.
Date: Saturday, 27 February 2016
Venue: Twickenham, London
Kick-off: 16.50 (16.50 GMT)
Expected weather: Mostly cloudy, no rain, a high of 7°C, dropping to 1°C
Referee: Romain Poite (France)
Assistant referees: Nigel Owens (Wales), Alexandre Ruiz (France)
TMO: Shaun Veldsman (South Africa)
By Paul Dobson
@rugby365com
