England v Ireland, 5 September

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ENGLAND v IRELAND
5 September 2015
14:30 BST
Twickenham, London

Live on Sky Sports 1

Referee: Nigel Owens (Wales)
Touch judges: Romain Poite (France) Leighton Hodges (Wales)
Television match official: Shaun Veldsman (South Africa)

A. Head to Head

129 Played 129
74 Won 47
8 Drawn 8
47 Lost 74
1,484 Points 1,056

B. Recent Form

1 March 2015
Aviva Stadium, Dublin
19 – 9 to Ireland

22 February 2014
Twickenham, London
13 – 10 to England

10 February 2013
Aviva Stadium, Dublin
6 – 12 to England

17 March 2012
Twickenham, London
30 – 9 to England

27 August 2011
Aviva Stadium, Dublin
9 – 20 to England

19 March 2011
Aviva Stadium, Dublin
24 – 8 to Ireland

27 February 2010
Twickenham, London
16 – 20 to Ireland

C. Teams

ENGLAND

15. Mike Brown (Harlequins, 38 caps)
14. Anthony Watson (Bath Rugby, 10 caps)
13. Jonathan Joseph (Bath Rugby, 12 caps)
12. Brad Barritt (Saracens, 22 caps)
11. Jonny May (Gloucester Rugby, 15 caps)
10. George Ford (Bath Rugby, 12 caps)
09. Ben Youngs (Leicester Tigers, 48 caps)

01. Joe Marler (Harlequins, 32 caps)
02. Tom Youngs (Leicester Tigers, 23 caps)
03. Dan Cole (Leicester Tigers, 51 caps)
04. Geoff Parling (Exeter Chiefs, 24 caps)
05. Courtney Lawes (Northampton Saints, 39 caps)
06. Tom Wood (Northampton Saints, 37 caps)
07. Chris Robshaw (captain, Harlequins, 38 caps)
08. Ben Morgan (Gloucester Rugby, 28 caps)

16. Jamie George (Saracens, 1 cap)
17. Mako Vunipola (Saracens, 22 caps)
18. Kieran Brookes (Northampton Saints, 11 caps)
19. Joe Launchbury (Wasps, 23 caps)
20. Billy Vunipola (Saracens, 18 caps)
21. Richard Wigglesworth (Saracens, 22 caps)
22. Owen Farrell (Saracens, 30 caps)
23. Sam Burgess (Bath Rugby, 1 cap)


IRELAND

01. Jack McGrath (St. Marys College/Leinster)
02. Rory Best (Banbridge/Ulster)
03. Mike Ross (Clontarf/Leinster)
04. Devin Toner (Lansdowne/Leinster)
05. Paul O'Connell (Young Munster) (capt)
06. Peter O'Mahony (Cork Constitution/Munster)
07. Sean O'Brien (UCD/Leinster)
08. Jamie Heaslip (Dublin University/Leinster)

09. Conor Murray (Garryowen/Munster)
10. Johnny Sexton (St. Mary's College/Leinster)
11. Dave Kearney (Lansdowne/Leinster)
12. Robbie Henshaw (Buccaneers/Connacht)
13. Jared Payne (Ulster)
14. Tommy Bowe (Belfast Harlequins/Ulster)
15. Simon Zebo (Cork Constitution/Munster)

16. Richardt Strauss (Old Wesley/Leinster)
17. Tadhg Furlong (Clontarf/Leinster)
18. Nathan White (Connacht)
19. Donnacha Ryan (Shannon/Munster)
20. Chris Henry (Malone/Ulster)
21. Eoin Reddan (Old Crescent/Leinster)
22. Ian Madigan (Blackrock College/Leinster)
23. Darren Cave (Belfast Harlequins/Ulster)

Barring Barritt being more than excessively limited and short of game time, it all comes down to the the not so fat fatties.

So who is going to be the dynamic force leading the line? Lets hope Morgan can have an impact as I don't see who else will win the gain line battle.

The replacement forwards look quite tasty, though I suspect their introduction will be negated by the addition of Farrell and Wigglesworth.

Finally there is the real prospect that the game will be won or lost by the coaches abilities and decisions both prior and during the game.

Love your optimism as ever.

No 7&1/2 wrote:Love your optimism as ever.

Seriously I'm amazed you can be optimistic given the coaches abilities. Bomber has proven beyond doubt that he is out of his depth and is in fact the limiting factor holding this generation of players back.

As for Rob Andrew again offering jam tomorrow....ffs please.

We have the players but the rfu is failing us and them.

Well hes going toe to toe with the great Joe Schmidt in the 6Ns so doing ok. Considering England dont have any proven world class players hes doing well still. Moving us forward nicely.

'Moving us forward nicely.' Sounds like the old british rail 'We're getting there' line.

Sorry but obviously we fundamentally disagree.

I will be screaming my patriotic head off tomorrow and can see us winning, though I can equally see us or Bomber cocking it up.

kingelderfield wrote:

Seriously I'm amazed you can be optimistic given the coaches abilities. Bomber has proven beyond doubt that he is out of his depth and is in fact the limiting factor holding this generation of players back.

As for Rob Andrew again offering jam tomorrow....ffs please.

We have the players but the rfu is failing us and them.

I am confused by this, I feel that Bomber has got England playing very well. I actually enjoy watching them now as they play a very attacking style of play but can also revert to old when playing SH teams. Quality coach in my mind.

eirebilly wrote:

kingelderfield wrote:

Seriously I'm amazed you can be optimistic given the coaches abilities. Bomber has proven beyond doubt that he is out of his depth and is in fact the limiting factor holding this generation of players back.

As for Rob Andrew again offering jam tomorrow....ffs please.

We have the players but the rfu is failing us and them.

I am confused by this, I feel that Bomber has got England playing very well. I actually enjoy watching them now as they play a very attacking style of play but can also revert to old when playing SH teams. Quality coach in my mind.

ah im sorry billy, but kingelder clearly knows better than everyone else including those at the RFU

eirebilly wrote:

kingelderfield wrote:

Seriously I'm amazed you can be optimistic given the coaches abilities. Bomber has proven beyond doubt that he is out of his depth and is in fact the limiting factor holding this generation of players back.

As for Rob Andrew again offering jam tomorrow....ffs please.

We have the players but the rfu is failing us and them.

I am confused by this, I feel that Bomber has got England playing very well. I actually enjoy watching them now as they play a very attacking style of play but can also revert to old when playing SH teams. Quality coach in my mind.

Absolutely. As far as I can see the England coaching team is well respected in the game. Kingelderfield, as I recall, didn't think SL should have been given the job in the first place, and has never been able to get over that.

Mind you, I think he's made a mistake in making a young FH entirely responsible for England's creativity, but he's still got time to change his mind on that before we get too far into the WC.

When you consider the state England were in after the last WC then I think SL has done a good jib, he has come in brought the discipline back and some sense of pride in the jersey etc.

Centres still seem to be Englands Achilles heel and I think that he put all his egss in the Tuilagi basket and when that went belly up he has struggled.

That said I think England play a more attacking and attractive style at the moment due to the fact Tuilagi isn't there and in Joseph and Watson they have two class players that will cause any team problems, Watson I think is sheer class but who do they partner Joseph with, that still seems to be his dilemma.

bedfordwelsh wrote:

That said I think England play a more attacking and attractive style at the moment due to the fact Tuilagi isn't there and in Joseph and Watson they have two class players that will cause any team problems, Watson I think is sheer class but who do they partner Joseph with, that still seems to be his dilemma.

Burgess

That's not even a real question.

I don't think it is a dilemma. If Barritt is fit, he's almost certainly the answer. People bang on about his lack of creativity, but there's creativity enough in Ford, Joseph, May and Watson (and Care if they choose to use him in other games). Barritt and Brown bring defensive solidity and the ability to straighten the line.

It's also worth noting that Ford-Burrell-Joseph has worked fine as a combination; Barritt doesn't give away much to Burrell in attack (at 12 - I thought Burrell ran very good lines at 13) but adds a lot to the defence, which could otherwise be vulnerable.

Let's be honest: we've all known that Barritt would play 12 if fit. The concern now is only because he hasn't been fit enough to play in the first few warm-ups. But assuming he is fit I am not worried about him slotting in. He's proven to be a really consistent player, and he can be relied upon to do what's needed without being particularly flash.

In the longer term, Slade looks like the answer, especially if he can add another half stone or so without losing his agility. I'd be excited to see him on the bench against Australia - that would really be fighting fire with fire.

This may be a warm up match but i still want Ireland to put in a performance and get a win. Sadly, i think that Ireland will get done and by a bit as well.

My prediction : England 29 - 17 Ireland

Planet rugby are predicting a narrow Irish win by three points

It's going to be a close game I think.

Cant understand why the commentators are having a dig at Zebo there, it was Bowe who was flattened by Jonny May...

Tommy Bowe and Sexton badly exposed with their defensive reads a few times in that move. Defence too passive, too many players in two minds of whether to shoot out or stay in the line. If Bowe in particular doesn't tighten up his defensive game they will be making hay down his wing all game. It wasn't just the final tackle there were three or four bad defensive reads from him altogether.

Jesus Tommy, handed that one to them.

Well taken try again by Johnny.

What an awful rendition of the Irish anthem.. Surely the RFU could find a singer with s bit more gusto to lead... Be nice if the band had the right tempo too...!

Please tell me Stuart Barnes isn't going to be involved in commentary come the actual World Cup?

I'd say Schmidt could be doubting his outside back selection now (cough cough Trimble).

England are really killing Ireland here. Who is marshaling the backline defence for Ireland, they look clueless.

Its sad to see this from Bowe, but it's no surprise based on his last few years at Ulster; they've got the wrong Ulsterman on that right wing.

Well I've been hugely critical on here but the first 15 mins England have made me eat my words and are showing that they can be aggressive and play.

Can they keep it up for the 80

Fine play from England so far, but what really does me is the cringe worthy over-celebrations from their players upon scoring a try. This is a pre-world cup friendly...not the world cup final. Stop acting like footballers. You should see a typical contrast in reactions when an Irish player scores a try - take note and learn.

FFS, imagine you take 20 minutes to get the ball near the England 22 and the first time you do you box kick it. Furious with that play.

GF,

They sounding really good, have been critical of May but he seems to be lifting his game and Watson is class.

That's a hell of a finish from May.

Great play from England again. I never used to rate May but he's improved a lot.

Tommy Bowes wing again. This is an Ian Humphreys level performance from him.

Ireland's backline is atrocious. No leadership, no direction, no depth in attack and no aggression in defence.

Ireland must be worried now, this is not what they want at all.

As a Welshman, I hope Ireland can sort this out quick! Or England will have a lot of momentum going into the Fiji game.

Also the pass was a mile forward in real time.

Yeah, it was, it will be a lucky escape because we were all at sea defensively there.

Don't know why the TMO is taking so long, ball clearly went forward out of the hands and travelled forward.

Ireland's defense is appalling to say the least. It's not just Bowe, its the lot of them but especially the backline which is seriously being caught out of position regularly. Ireland miss someone to marshal the defense in the backline desperately.

Correct decision but dear God did it really take the video ref that long to check it!!

I know May has been hit and miss but when he's good he is very good

Clearly forward in real time. Quality commentary team as boss eyed as the officials.

milkyboy wrote:Clearly forward in real time. Quality commentary team as boss eyed as the officials.

Which commentators? The sky lot were pretty clear it was forward fair play.

This is great stuff. Can say the Irish defence is bad, and they've made some mistakes but any team struggles with this.

We just went from being in possession in the England 22 to them having possession in our 22 via a sloppy turnover at the breakdown, an intercept pass and a fumble.

wales606 wrote:

milkyboy wrote:Clearly forward in real time. Quality commentary team as boss eyed as the officials.

Which commentators? The sky lot were pretty clear it was forward fair play.

Only when the tmo intervened. They watched it several times first without noticing.

Johnny may was raw when he came in and is still a work in progress.

I never got the huge criticism of him.

He's obviously worked on what the coaches have asked and is showing good development....and is a dangerous player on that wing.

Ireland sound all over the shop

Beautiful pass from Payne, but we instantly undo the good work with a mistake.

Zebo takes so much out of the ball every time he has it, won't somebody tell him to carry with two hands? Bowe is having the makings of a nightmare.

Gez, Ireland are playing horribly, England are doing well.

Nigel's requesting a physio at half time, could we see Poite come on and change the game in the second half?

JmD wrote:Nigel's requesting a physio at half time, could we see Poite come on and change the game in the second half?

Don't think the ref is making much difference at the moment. If the sides keep playing like this then England will win well. The question is will Ireland sort it out at half-time.

I've never seen Ireland drop so many balls