England is headed towards a worrying challenge against Ireland, with the Six Nations rugby tournament set to resume for its fourth round this weekend.
Steve Borthwick’s side will make a return to Twickenham on the back of a fourth-straight defeat to Scotland in the Calcutta Cup at Maryfield that ended their Grand Slam ambitions. They got off to a good start at Edinburgh after close wins over Italy and Wales, however, a hat-trick from Duhan van der Merwe ensured a loss in what England hoped would have been only a second win over Scotland since 2017.
Their hopes of capturing a Grand Slam is over and they’re now looking towards their match with Ireland, a team well on track to become the first to win back-to-back Grand Slam titles in the Six Nations era.
According to former Irish No. 8 Jamie Heaslip, Ireland has to go down to 14 or 13 players for England to beat them on Saturday.
“I haven’t seen what the bookies are saying, but in order for England to win, Ireland have to go down to like 14 or 13 players and I think England need a couple of trick plays up their sleeve,” Heaslip said on the Rugby Union Daily podcast (H/T Yahoo Sports).
As it happens, the past four meetings between England and Ireland have seen at least one red card.
“They only know winning,” Heaslip continued as he talked up Farrell’s side.
“It’s a pretty powerful mindset coming into it and fills them with confidence. It kind of reminds me of that Richie McCaw-Dan Carter side with New Zealand.
“That period from 2007 to the 2015 World Cup when they were just so, so dominant.
“It builds a bit of a flywheel momentum for these guys. They don’t take anything for granted, that’s for sure.
“Andy Farrell won’t let them take anything for granted. They’re not fearful of going there [Twickenham] now but they should definitely understand the history between the two sides.
With the legalization of online sports betting happening around the globe, fans all over the world will be on top of the Six Nations tournaments, paying close attention to the matches and the odds around them. The Green Machine’s impressive streak of winning their last 11 Six Nations matches has set them up as a favorite in the eyes of those closely watching the odds at online sports betting platforms. This winning streak ties the record for the longest in the competition’s history, a record England previously set between 2015 and 2017. England, now poised to disrupt Ireland’s pursuit of a historic 12th consecutive victory, finds itself in a role reversal, as they were the team whose record Ireland had halted, preventing them from securing a 12th win and consecutive Grand Slams.
The Lions have committed two or more tacklers from 63 percent of their carries in the competition, which is the best rate for any team. Ireland, on the other hand, has the best gain line success rate at 55 percent. Ireland and England rank first and second at 30 percent and 26 percent, respectively, when it comes to carry dominance this season.
They are also the only teams with a lineout success rate over 85 percent in the Six Nations, with Ireland at 95 percent and England at 92 percent. Ireland’s Ronan Kelleher and England’s Theo Dan are the only hookers boasting perfect throws this season, with the former going 10/10 and the latter 6/6.
England’s Ben Earle has more carries than any other player in the Championship this year with 42 and also tops the category for meters in contact with 78. Ireland’s Caelan Doris, James Lowe, Calvin Nash, and Bundee Akee all round out the top 5.
England’s Danny Care would be the sixth player to reach 100 test appearances if he gets a cap in this match.
The Lions will be looking to turn their fortunes around this weekend as they face a formidable Irish side. Despite their Grand Slam dreams ending, they will fight to secure a win at Twickenham, though they will have to overcome a team that is renowned for its physical and tactical prowess.
While they’ve struggled as of late, England has a talented squad that boasts some of the best players in the world. They will be hoping to use their experience and skill to overcome Ireland, who, as mentioned above, are unbeaten in their last 11 Six Nations games.
The match promises to be a thrilling encounter as Ireland will be looking to win an unprecedented 12th straight game while England will be desperate to halt them.
