Ireland v England in the Six Nations: Kick-off time, TV details and team news

ALL YOU NEED TO KNOW: Wales’ Dafydd Jenkins with Bundee Aki of Ireland. Pic:©INPHO/Dan Sheridan

The Six Nations returns this weekend and Andy Farrell's side are on the road as the make the trip to London for their round four clash against England in Twickenham.

Ireland have three wins from their opening three games and will be looking to continue their winning ways while England will be looking to bounce back from their round three loss to Scotland at Murraryfield.

It should be a cracker as two old rivals take to the field once again. Here is all you need to know ahead of the clash.

Where is the game being played?

The game will be played in the 82,000 seater Twickenham Stadium. 

What time is kick-off?

The game kicks-off at 4.45pm on Saturday March 9.

Where to watch? 

The game is live on RTÉ2 from 4pm and also on UTV. The alternative option, and a recommended one at that, is to join Andrew Horgan from around the same time on the Irish Examiner Sport Six Nations live blog.

Who is the referee?

The man in the middle this week is Nika Amashukeli from Georgia. 

Key Stats

Ireland have won 14 of their 24 (58%) Guinness Six Nations games against England, the only nation to have won at least half of their games against England.

Ireland have won their last three games against England in the Championship with no team winning four-in-a-row in this fixture since Ireland did so between 2004 and 2007.

In the last eight test games between the two side have been decided by 10+ points with England winning the first four matches in that run and Ireland the most recent four.

Ireland have won their last 11 games in the Six Nations which is the joint longest run for any team in the history of the Championship including the Home/Five Nations.

Ireland (10) and England (9.7) are ranked first and second respectively for 22 entries per game in this Six Nations with Ireland averaging the most points per 22 entry (3.4) and England averaging the fewest (1.8).

Ireland (95%) and England (92%) are the only two teams in the 2024 Six Nations to have a lineout success rate over 85%. Ireland's Ronan Kelleher (10/10) and England's Theo Dan (6/6) are the only hookers to not miss a throw in the competition to date.

Ireland's Dan Sheehan has scored four tries to date in this years competition with Scotland's Duhan van der Merwe just ahead on five. No forward has score five times in a single Championship with Sheehan currently equalling France's Imanol Harinordoquy who scored four in 2004. 

Team News

Hugo Keenan returns to Ireland’s starting line-up for Saturday’s Guinness Six Nations clash with England at Twickenham but James Ryan’s championship is at an end due to injury, Andy Farrell revealed on Thursday.

The return of Keenan at full-back following a knee injury sustained in the round-two win over Italy on February 9 is the only change to the team which started the victory against Wales last time out 13 days ago.

Tighthead prop Oli Jager, who made his Ireland debut off the bench against Wales, is also absent with a troublesome knee. The Munster front-rower’s absence opens the door to a return for Finley Bealham as back-up to starter Tadhg Furlong, who is set to win his 75th cap on Saturday.

Meanwhile, Steve Borthwick has made three changes to his side who lost to Scotland with Immanuel Feyi-Waboso making his first start for England. His is picked ahead of the experience Elliot Daly who will wear 23 on the day. 

Alex Mitchell returns from injury to the starting XV with lock George Martin coming into the side. Ollie Chessum moveout of the matchday squad. 

Marcus Smith returns from injury to take his place on the bench in place of the injured Fin Smith. Scrum half Danny Care is in line to make his 100th appearance off the bench.

ENGLAND: G Furbank; I Feyi-Waboso, H Slade, O Lawrence, T Freeman; G Ford, A Mitchell; E Genge, J George, D Cole; M Itoje, G Martin; O Chessum, S Underhill, B Earl.

Replacements: T Dan, J Marler, W Stuart, C Cunningham-South, A Dombrandt, D Care, M Smith, E Daly.

IRELAND: H Keenan (Leinster); C Nash (Munster), R Henshaw (Leinster), B Aki (Connacht), J Lowe (Leinster); J Crowley (Munster), J Gibson-Park (Leinster); A Porter (Leinster), D Sheehan (Leinster), T Furlong (Leinster); J McCarthy (Leinster), T Beirne (Munster); P O’Mahony (Munster) – captain, J van der Flier (Leinster), C Doris (Leinster).

Replacements: R Kelleher (Leinster), C Healy (Leinster), F Bealham (Connacht), I Henderson (Ulster), R Baird (Leinster), J Conan (Leinster), C Murray (Munster), C Frawley (Leinster).