IRFU Live Blog: England v Ireland
Join us for live text commentary of Ireland’s final Rugby World Cup warm-up game against England at Twickenham today (kick-off 2.30pm), as the Six Nations rivals clash ahead of the much-anticipated tournament.
On the couch, in the clubhouse, on the move? You can follow all the action from England v Ireland with our IRFU Live Blog this afternoon.
If you don’t have a ticket for Ireland’s fourth and final Rugby World Cup warm-up fixture (kick-off 2.30pm), you can keep track of the game on our IRFU Live Blog, featuring:
– Live match updates and all the build-up from Twickenham
– Your tweets and photos
– Post-match reaction from Joe Schmidt and the players
Today’s encounter is being broadcast live on Sky Sports 1 and RTÉ Radio 1 (with highlights on RTÉ Two at 7.30pm). You can follow every tackle and try on the IRFU Live Blog – #ShouldertoShoulder and #ENGvIRE.
Speaking on the eve of the match, Ireland captain Paul O’Connell said: “We have a few things since Joe (Schmidt) came in first day that when we have played well we have done those things really well, really efficiently and we didn’t do that last week or in the Scotland game. If we do those well that will lead to a good performance.
“When you look at this year’s Six Nations, despite us winning it, two of the best performances were England in Wales and England on the last day against France. This squad, the bones of it anyway, beat New Zealand well a few years ago and finished second in the Six Nations in the last four years, so they have probably been more consistent than we have.
“There is a great squad there, with an incredible skill level. We were delighted to beat them this year (19-9). We threw a good punch at them last year and were in a really good position 50 minutes in, but they just showed great mental strength to come back at us and that (13-10 defeat) was a big, big blow.
“For us to come back and win that game at the Aviva was massive this year. We have great respect for England and they will go very well at the World Cup. They seem to produce their best in World Cups.”
England v Ireland Preview – click here.