LIVEEngland v Ireland, Six Nations live minute-by-minute updates

We are in to the second-half of an extraordinary game of rugby at Twickenham's Allianz Stadium
England v Ireland, Six Nations live minute-by-minute updates

SOME SHOW JOE: Ireland's Joe McCarthy celebrates after Tadhg Beirne wins a penalty against England at Allianz Stadium

England 7-29 Ireland

53 mins: Henry Pollock returns to the field. England are back to 15.

51 mins: Penalty for Ireland on their own line. Jamie George pinged for a croc roll on Jamison Gibson-Park. 

50 mins: Nick Timoney is on for Ireland. He has made a huge impact off the bench in rounds one and two. Josh van der Flier makes way.

England are ringing the changes too, btw.

47 mins: Finlay Bealham and Tom O'Toole are coming in to Ireland's front row. Tahdg Furlong and Jeremy Loughman are done for the day.

Furlong gives Loughman, Ireland's fourth-choice loosehead, a pat on the head on the way.

A picture that sums the day up so far...

GREEN MACHINE: Ireland's Caelan Doris ploughs through the English line at Allianz Stadium in Twickenham. Pic: Brendan Moran/Sportsfile
GREEN MACHINE: Ireland's Caelan Doris ploughs through the English line at Allianz Stadium in Twickenham. Pic: Brendan Moran/Sportsfile

43 mins: TRY IRELAND! 

Ireland's quick tap from a few metres out leads to a bonus-point try from Dan Sheehan.

Jack Crowley's penalty is true. It's 7-29.

That's the perfect start to the second-half, especially after England closed the opening period with some momentum.

42 mins: Caelan Doris hares through another gaping hole in the English midfield and Henry Pollock gets a yellow card for stopping the Irish attack on the English try line. 

Oh no. We're going to the TMO. It looks like Tadhg Furlong caught Tom Curry high with a clearout earlier in that move. 

Pierre Brousset lets that go.

41 mins: We are back underway...

HT: Someone grab me a cold, damp towel. That was a blizzard of rugby with Ireland scoring three tries and conceding one in the last act of the half.

We've also had four replacements - three for England - a yellow card and a new referee. Bonkers!

As promised: Ireland's third try. This made it 22-0. 


40+2 mins:  TRY ENGLAND! 

Fraser Dingwall goes over in first-half injury-time. The pressure was mounting and the hosts finally get on the board on the back of their sixth visit to the Irish 22.

And George Ford adds the two. It's 7-22 and we are only halfway there.

40 mins: Marcus Smith is on for Freddie Steward. There's 22 seconds to go in the half and England have a scrum inside the Ireland 22.

38 mins: Massive. Just massive. England try to go down the short side off the lineout but Tadhg Beirne snaffles it on the deck and Ireland escape.

Freddie Steward is back on.

37 mins: England are in the Ireland 22. They badly need a score and the crowd is mock-cheering George Ford for kicking a simply penalty to touch from a few metres out. 

This is Ireland's second try. Don't worry, we'll get to the third. There's a lot happening!



30 mins: TRY IRELAND! 

Good God almighty! Robert Baloucoune makes a metre and sends Tommy O'Brien free down the wing. Excellent from Ireland but England are just all over the shop here.

Jack Crowley adds the two extra. It's 22-0. Apologies: it's 0-22!

30 mins: Jamie George is on for Luke Cowan-Dickie.

30 mins: It's all happening. Referee Andrea Piardi is down now. It has been hectic, to be fair. Pierre Brousset replaces him.

29 mins: Josh van der Flier flies through a gap in the English midfield. England are in ribbons.

28 MINS: TRY IRELAND!

This is dreamland stuff. Savage line break through the midfield from Stuart McCloskey. He is finally grounded but Gibson-Park spreads it wide to Robert Baloucoune who just has to fall over the line.

And there's more good news for Ireland with Freddie Steward getting a yellow card for blatant offside at the ruck 

Jack Crowley sends a difficult touchline conversion inches wide.

That Ireland try. Beautiful!


25 mins: Big, questionable call against Tommy O'Brien in the air, with Gibson-Park racing free to the try line off the bouncing ball. 

23 mins: Jack Crowley has shanked a penalty miles to the left. A pity. He had nailed his first two at goal and and his work with ball-in-hand has been excellent.

England have made big yards with some of their carries but there are too many errors here as they move the ball through the hands and not through the air.

Andy Farrell preached the need for a fast start this week. He's got it!

21 mins: TRY IRELAND! 

That's sensational. Brilliant crosskick sends Robert Baloucoune flying up the wing and he hands off to Tommy O'Brien. That was the start of it. Seconds later and Jamison Gibson-Park scoots over after a quick tap penalty.

All that off a scrum that was going backwards as well!

Jack Crowley nails the difficult conversion as well. It's 10-0. 

19 mins: Tommy O'Brien, who started in Paris but sat out the Italy win, is on for Lowe. 

19 mins: Another massive stand by Ireland in the 22 after 16 0r 17 English phases.

England were making serious inroads but coughed it up again.

The down side is that James Lowe is down and looks in trouble.

15 mins: Ireland concede a second scrum penalty but George Ford botches the kick by sending it dead. Wow, what a letoff!

15 mins: Tommy Freeman intercepts a Stuart McCloskey pass when the visitors had a 3-on-1 overlap. 

14 mins: Brilliant aerial take by Robert Baloucoune!

13 mins: Huge phase for Ireland as the defence holds firm in the face of huge English carries inside the 22. A score looked certain before the ball was spilled forward and kicked clear of the danger area.

8 mins: The visitors take the lead. Huge Irish pressure in the England 22 after Joe McCarthy steals off an English lineout. Ireland's execution is looking really good with ball in hand.

It ends with a penalty under the posts and Jack Crowley slots it over.

It's 3-0 to Ireland.

6 mins: Scrum penalty against Ireland on England's first put-in. Hmmm. Not good. Not this early.

5 mins: Excellent Irish attack with offloads from Jamison Gibson-Park and Jack Crowley only for James Lowe to spill it over the sideline in the 22. Drat. But promising.

4 mins: It's an Irish put-in, which helps, but it needs a reset and then it's a free-kick against England. Result.

And then Ireland nab England's first lineout. England have been the best team out of touch in this tournament so far.

2 min: Ireland cope with the first English attack after the hosts go through the phases and then turn to the air.

First scrum incoming!

2.08pm: Anthems done. It's almost time...

2.00pm: This marks the first time that the Six Nations has been played three weeks in a row. That's on the back of last summer's British and Irish Lions tour to Australia which always has an effect on those involved.

1.53pm: Keep an eye out for Henry Pollock, the Marmite forward from Northampton Saints who wears the No.8 jersey for England. Ireland captain Caelan Doris has already highlighted the threat he poses on what is his first start for his country.

1.39pm: The weekend got off to a flying start in Bath on Friday night with the Ireland U20s shocking a fancied England side at The Rec. Hopefully a sign of things to come today?

1.31pm: Bernard Jackman on Ireland's scrum troubles on RTE just now: "The England front row will be licking their lips like it's an all-you-can-eat buffet. Ireland need to make sure the kitchen is closed from the off."

Bravo, Bernard! Bravo!

Ireland's Jack Crowley practises his kicking before the Six Nations game against England at Allianz Stadium. Pic: Brendan Moran/Sportsfile
Ireland's Jack Crowley practises his kicking before the Six Nations game against England at Allianz Stadium. Pic: Brendan Moran/Sportsfile

1.27pm: England have won the toss. Ireland will receive the kick.

1.25pm: RTE are digging in to the No.10 debate already. Simon Zebo has always talked Jack Crowley up, whether with Munster or with Ireland. "He's been really good any time he has been called upon [off the bench]," says Zebo. Now he gets the chance to do it from the off.

"He needs to raise it from minute one," says Stephen Ferris.

1.22pm: Maro Itoje earns his 100th cap for his country today. Here's the squad that backs him up for the occasion...


1.17pm: Here's Ireland's tweaked line-up for today's game...

1.08pm: It has been confirmed that Jack Conan has been ruled out due to illness. His place on the bench goes to Connacht's Cian Prendergast who started in round one away to France.

1.00pm: Good afternoon all! Well, it doesn't get much bigger than Ireland-England in the Six Nations. The Range Rovers and the wicker picnic baskets are already in situ around Twickers as we count down the minutes to a 2.10pm kick-off and with question marks over both sides today.

England's long winning run was ended in no uncertain terms by the Scots in Murrayfield last weekend. Ireland got their first win of the Championship, against Italy, the same day but failed to impress again for long periods.

So many talking points and for us and Donal Lenihan has dug into the most important of them for us. No better man!

Simon Lewis is our man in London today and he has set the scene with his match preview. According to Simon, Ireland have very little room for error as they go about chasing just a third win in eleven attempts at the home of rugby. 

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