Head-To-Head: Ireland v England

A statistical preview of this afternoon’s crunch Guinness Six Nations clash between Triple Crown hopefuls Ireland and England at Twickenham Stadium (kick-off 3pm).

2020 GUINNESS SIX NATIONS CHAMPIONSHIP: Sunday, February 23

ENGLAND (5th) v IRELAND (2nd), Twickenham Stadium, 3pm (live Virgin Media One/UTV/ITV/RTÉ Radio 1/BBC Radio Ulster/BBC Radio 5 Live Sports Extra/FR2/DMAX/NBC/IRFU Live Blog)

ENGLAND: Elliot Daly (Saracens); Jonny May (Leicester Tigers), Manu Tuilagi (Leicester Tigers), Owen Farrell (Saracens) (capt), Jonathan Joseph (Bath); George Ford (Leicester Tigers), Ben Youngs (Leicester Tigers); Joe Marler (Harlequins), Jamie George (Saracens), Kyle Sinckler (Harlequins), Maro Itoje (Saracens), George Kruis (Saracens), Courtney Lawes (Northampton Saints), Sam Underhill (Bath), Tom Curry (Sale Sharks).

Replacements: Luke Cowan-Dickie (Exeter Chiefs), Ellis Genge (Leicester Tigers), Will Stuart (Bath), Joe Launchbury (Wasps), Charlie Ewels (Bath), Ben Earl (Saracens), Willi Heinz (Gloucester), Henry Slade (Exeter Chiefs).

IRELAND: Jordan Larmour (St. Mary’s College/Leinster); Andrew Conway (Garryowen/Munster), Robbie Henshaw (Buccaneers/Leinster), Bundee Aki (Galwegians/Connacht), Jacob Stockdale (Lurgan/Ulster); Jonathan Sexton (St. Mary’s College/Leinster) (capt), Conor Murray (Garryowen/Munster); Cian Healy (Clontarf/Leinster), Rob Herring (Ballynahinch/Ulster), Tadhg Furlong (Clontarf/Leinster), Devin Toner (Lansdowne/Leinster), James Ryan (UCD/Leinster), Peter O’Mahony (Cork Constitution/Munster), Josh van der Flier (UCD/Leinster), CJ Stander (Shannon/Munster).

Replacements: Ronan Kelleher (Lansdowne/Leinster), Dave Kilcoyne (UL Bohemians/Munster), Andrew Porter (UCD/Leinster), Ultan Dillane (Galway Corinthians/Connacht), Caelan Doris (St. Mary’s College/Leinster), John Cooney (Terenure College/Ulster), Ross Byrne (UCD/Leinster), Keith Earls (Young Munster/Munster).

Referee: Jaco Peyper (South Africa)
Assistant Referees: Romain Poite, Alexandre Ruiz (both France)
Television Match Official: Marius Jonker (South Africa)

Head-To-Head:

Played – 135
England Won – 78
Ireland Won – 49
Drawn – 8

The drawn games were in 1882 (two tries each), 1910 (0-0), 1925 (6-6), 1953 (9-9), 1955 (6-6), 1963 (0-0), 1966 (6-6) and 1968 (9-9)

Ireland v England – Results Since 2000:

2000: England won 50-18, Twickenham
2001: Ireland won 20-14, Lansdowne Road
2002: England won 45-11, Twickenham
2003: England won 42-6, Lansdowne Road
2004: Ireland won 19-13, Twickenham
2005: Ireland won 19-13, Lansdowne Road
2006: Ireland won 28-24, Twickenham
2007: Ireland won 43-13, Croke Park
2008: England won 33-10, Twickenham
2009: Ireland won 14-13, Croke Park
2010: Ireland won 20-16, Twickenham
2011: Ireland won 24-8, Aviva Stadium; England won 20-9, Aviva Stadium
2012: England won 30-9, Twickenham
2013: England won 12-6, Aviva Stadium
2014: England won 13-10, Twickenham
2015: Ireland won 19-9, Aviva Stadium; England won 21-13, Twickenham
2016: England won 21-10, Twickenham
2017: Ireland won 13-9, Aviva Stadium
2018: Ireland won 24-15, Twickenham
2019: England won 32-20, Aviva Stadium; England won 57-15, Twickenham

Biggest Wins:

England: Points & Margin: 57-15, 2019 Rugby World Cup Warm-Up

Ireland: Points & Margin: 43-13, 2007 Six Nations

Individual Records In The Series:

Most Points In A Match: England 23 (Paul Grayson 1996); Ireland 21 (Ollie Campbell 1983, Ronan O’Gara 2007)

Most Tries In A Match: England 3 (Henry Taylor 1881, Chris Oti 1988); Ireland 2 (by 13 players – last by Tommy Bowe 2010)

Most Appearances – Ireland v England:

16 – Rory Best
15 – Mike Gibson
14 – Willie John McBride, Ronan O’Gara, Rory Underwood
13 – Jason Leonard, Paul O’Connell, Brian O’Driscoll
12 – Cian Healy, Tom Kiernan, Jonathan Sexton, Fergus Slattery
11 – Rob Andrew, Will Carling, Dan Cole, Dylan Hartley, Moss Keane, Jack Kyle, Phil Orr, Jonny Wilkinson
10 – James Haskell, John Hayes, Jamie Heaslip, Michael Kiernan, Ray McLoughlin, Brendan Mullin, Noel Murphy, George Stephenson, Peter Stringer

Top Points Scorers – Ireland v England:

107 – Jonny Wilkinson
101 – Ronan O’Gara
93 – Owen Farrell
80 – Jonathan Sexton
67 – Paul Grayson
47 – David Humphreys
43 – Jonathan Webb
41 – Ollie Campbell, Bob Hiller, Tom Kiernan

Top Try Scorers – Ireland v England:

7 – Rory Underwood
6 – Cyril Lowe
5 – George Robinson
4 – Wilfred Bolton, Elliot Daly, Will Greenwood, Alastair Smallwood
3 – Tommy Bowe, Jeff Butterfield, Ben Cohen, Kevin Flynn, Mike Gibson, Tom Grace, Austin Healey, Shane Horgan, Dicky Lockwood, Jonny May, Tony Novis, Brian O’Driscoll, Bertie O’Hanlon, Chris Oti, Dean Richards, Alan Roberts, Jon Sleightholme, Mike Slemen, Henry Taylor, Alfred Tedford, Tony Underwood

England – Form Guide From Start Of The 2019 Six Nations:

Won 32-20 v Ireland away (Six Nations)
Won 44-8 v France home (Six Nations)
Lost 21-13 v Wales away (Six Nations)
Won 57-14 v Italy home (Six Nations)
Drew 38-38 v Scotland home (Six Nations)
Won 33-19 v Wales home (Rugby World Cup Warm-Up)
Lost 13-6 v Wales away (Rugby World Cup Warm-Up)
Won 57-15 v Ireland home (Rugby World Cup Warm-Up)
Won 37-0 v Italy home (Rugby World Cup Warm-Up)
Won 35-3  Tonga neutral (Rugby World Cup Pool C)
Won 45-7 v USA neutral (Rugby World Cup Pool C)
Won 39-10 v Argentina neutral (Rugby World Cup Pool C)
Won 40-16 v Australia neutral (Rugby World Cup Pool Quarter-Final)
Won 19-7 v New Zealand neutral (Rugby World Cup Semi-Final)
Lost 32-12 v South Africa neutral (Rugby World Cup Final)
Lost 24-17 v France away (Six Nations)
Won 13-6 v Scotland away (Six Nations)

Ireland – Form Guide From Start Of The 2019 Six Nations:

Lost 32-20 v England home (Six Nations)
Won 22-13 v Scotland away (Six Nations)
Won 26-16 v Italy away (Six Nations)
Won 26-14 v France home (Six Nations)
Lost 25-7 v Wales away (Six Nations)
Won 29-10 v Italy home (GUINNESS Summer Series)
Lost 57-15 v England away (Rugby World Cup Warm-Up)
Won 22-17 v Wales away (Rugby World Cup Warm-Up)
Won 19-10 v Wales home (GUINNESS Summer Series)
Won 27-3 v Scotland neutral (Rugby World Cup Pool A)
Lost 19-12 v Japan away (Rugby World Cup Pool A)
Won 35-0 v Russia neutral (Rugby World Cup Pool A)
Won 47-5 v Samoa neutral (Rugby World Cup Pool A)
Lost 46-14 v New Zealand neutral (Rugby World Cup Quarter-Final)
Won 18-14 v Scotland home (Six Nations)
Won 24-14 v Wales home (Six Nations)

International Championship All-Time Records:

Points –
557 Ronan O’Gara (Ireland)
546 Jonny Wilkinson (England)
467 Stephen Jones (Wales)
417 Owen Farrell (England)
406 Neil Jenkins (Wales)
403 Chris Paterson (Scotland)
403 Jonathan Sexton (Ireland)
394 Leigh Halfpenny (Wales)
290 Greig Laidlaw (Scotland)
288 Gavin Hastings (Scotland)
270 David Humphreys (Ireland)
232 Paul Grayson (England)

Tries –
26 Brian O’Driscoll (Ireland)
24 Ian Smith (Scotland)
22 Shane Williams (Wales)
20 George North (Wales)
18 Gareth Edwards (Wales)
18 Cyril Lowe (England)
18 Rory Underwood (England)

Caps –
69 Sergio Parisse (Italy)
65 Brian O’Driscoll (Ireland)
64 Rory Best (Ireland)
63 Ronan O’Gara (Ireland)
60 Martin Castrogiovanni (Italy)
56 Mike Gibson (Ireland)
56 Gethin Jenkins (Wales)
55 Ross Ford (Scotland)
55 Alun Wyn Jones (Wales)
54 John Hayes (Ireland)
54 Jason Leonard (England)
53 Leonardo Ghiraldini (Italy)
53 Willie John McBride (Ireland)
53 Chris Paterson (Scotland)
53 Alessandro Zanni (Italy)
51 Marco Bortolami (Italy)
51 Paul O’Connell (Ireland)
51 Martyn Williams (Wales)
50 Stephen Jones (Wales)
50 Philippe Sella (France)
50 Rory Underwood (England)

England – Most-Capped Players:

114 Jason Leonard
97 Dylan Hartley
97 Ben Youngs
95 Dan Cole
91 Jonny Wilkinson
85 Lawrence Dallaglio
85 Rory Underwood
84 Danny Care
84 Martin Johnson
83 Courtney Lawes
81 Owen Farrell
78 Joe Worsley
77 Matt Dawson
77 James Haskell
75 Mike Catt
75 Mike Tindall
73 Steve Thompson
73 Phil Vickery

England – All-Time Leading Points Scorers:

1179 Jonny Wilkinson
890 Owen Farrell
400 Paul Grayson
396 Rob Andrew
301 Toby Flood
300 George Ford
296 Jonathan Webb
269 Charlie Hodgson
240 Dusty Hare
210 Rory Underwood
203 Simon Hodgkinson

England – All-Time Leading Try Scorers:

49 Rory Underwood
31 Ben Cohen
31 Will Greenwood
30 Jeremy Guscott
29 Jonny May
28 Jason Robinson
24 Dan Luger
22 Josh Lewsey
20 Chris Ashton
20 Mark Cueto
18 Cyril Lowe

Ireland – Most-Capped Players:

133 Brian O’Driscoll
128 Ronan O’Gara
124 Rory Best
108 Paul O’Connell
105 John Hayes
98 Peter Stringer
97 Cian Healy
95 Jamie Heaslip
95 Rob Kearney
94 Donncha O’Callaghan
92 Malcolm O’Kelly
90 Jonathan Sexton
83 Keith Earls
82 Gordon D’Arcy
82 Girvan Dempsey
80 Conor Murray
72 Sean Cronin
72 David Humphreys
72 Geordan Murphy
72 David Wallace
71 Eoin Reddan
70 Kevin Maggs
70 Andrew Trimble
69 Tommy Bowe
69 Mike Gibson
69 Devin Toner

Ireland – All-Time Leading Points Scorers:

1083 Ronan O’Gara
814 Jonathan Sexton
560 David Humphreys
308 Michael Kiernan
296 Eric Elwood
245 Brian O’Driscoll
217 Ollie Campbell
195 Paddy Jackson
158 Tom Kiernan
150 Tommy Bowe
150 Keith Earls
145 Denis Hickie

Ireland – All-Time Leading Try Scorers:

46 Brian O’Driscoll
30 Tommy Bowe
30 Keith Earls
29 Denis Hickie
21 Shane Horgan
19 Girvan Dempsey
18 Geordan Murphy
17 Brendan Mullin
17 Andrew Trimble
16 Rob Kearney
16 Ronan O’Gara
16 Jacob Stockdale
15 Kevin Maggs
15 Keith Wood
14 Conor Murray
14 George Stephenson
13 Jamie Heaslip
13 Jonathan Sexton
12 Rory Best
12 Keith Crossan
12 David Wallace
11 Alan Duggan
11 Simon Geoghegan

World Rugby All-Time Top Points Scorers:

1598 Dan Carter (New Zealand)
1246 Jonny Wilkinson (1179-England, 67-Lions)
1090 Neil Jenkins (1049-Wales, 41-Lions)
1083 Ronan O’Gara (Ireland)
1010 Diego Dominguez (27-Argentina, 983-Italy)
970 Stephen Jones (917-Wales, 53-Lions)
970 Florin Vlaicu (Romania)
967 Andrew Mehrtens (New Zealand)
921 Owen Farrell (England)
911 Michael Lynagh (Australia)
893 Percy Montgomery (South Africa)
878 Matt Burke (Australia)
840 Merab Kvirikashvili (Georgia)
819 Jonathan Sexton (810-Ireland, 5-Lions)
809 Chris Paterson (Scotland)

World Rugby All-Time Top Try Scorers:

67 Bryan Habana (South Africa)
64 David Campese (Australia)
60 Shane Williams (58-Wales, 2-Lions)
50 Rory Underwood (49-England, 1-Lions)
49 Doug Howlett (New Zealand)
47 Brian O’Driscoll (46-Ireland, 1-Lions)
46 Christian Cullen (New Zealand)
46 Joe Rokocoko (New Zealand)
46 Julian Savea (New Zealand)
44 Jeff Wilson (New Zealand)
42 George North (40-Wales, 2-Lions)
41 Gareth Thomas (40-Wales, 1-Lions)
40 Chris Latham (Australia)

(Note: Daisuke Ohata scored 69 tries for Japan, but not all against major international opposition)

The ‘100 Caps’ Club:

148 Richie McCaw (New Zealand)
145 Alun Wyn Jones (136-Wales, 9-Lions)
142 Sergio Parisse (Italy)
141 Brian O’Driscoll (133-Ireland, 8-Lions)
139 George Gregan (Australia)
134 Gethin Jenkins (129-Wales, 5-Lions)
132 Keven Mealamu (New Zealand)
130 Ronan O’Gara (128-Ireland, 2-Lions)
129 Stephen Moore (Australia)
127 Victor Matfield (South Africa)
127 Kieran Read (New Zealand)
124 Rory Best (Ireland)
124 Bryan Habana (South Africa)
122 Florin Vlaicu (Romania)
121 Adam Ashley-Cooper (Australia)
121 Davit Kacharava (Georgia)
119 Martin Castrogiovanni (Italy)
119 Jason Leonard (114-England, 5-Lions)
118 Fabien Pelous (France)
118 Tony Woodcock (New Zealand)
118 Alessandro Zanni (Italy)
117 Tendai Mtawarira (South Africa)
117 Sam Whitelock (New Zealand)
116 Nathan Sharpe (Australia)
115 Merab Kvirikashvili (Georgia)
115 Paul O’Connell (108-Ireland, 7-Lions)
114 Yuri Kushnarev (Russia)
112 Marco Bortolami (Italy)
112 Dan Carter (New Zealand)
111 Ross Ford (110-Scotland, 1-Lions)
111 Philippe Sella (France)
111 John Smit (South Africa)
111 George Smith (Australia)
110 Will Genia (Australia)
110 Stephen Jones (104-Wales, 6-Lions)
110 Sekope Kepu (Australia)
109 Jean de Villiers (South Africa)
109 Chris Paterson (Scotland)
108 Catalin Fercu (Romania)
108 Owen Franks (New Zealand)
107 John Hayes (105-Ireland, 2-Lions)
106 Mauro Bergamasco (Italy)
105 Sean Lamont (Scotland)
104 Leonardo Ghiraldini (Italy)
104 Martyn Williams (100-Wales, 4-Lions)
103 Matt Giteau (Australia)
103 Andrea Lo Cicero (Italy)
103 Ma’a Nonu (New Zealand)
103 Gareth Thomas (100-Wales, 3-Lions)
102 Stephen Larkham (Australia)
102 Percy Montgomery (South Africa)
101 David Campese (Australia)
101 Giorgi Chkhaidze (Georgia)
101 Victor Gresev (Russia)
101 Alessandro Troncon (Italy)
101 Goncalo Uva (Portugal)
101 Vasco Uva (Portugal)
100 Valentin Calafeteanu (Romania)
100 Jamie Heaslip (95-Ireland, 5-Lions)
100 Adam Jones (95-Wales, 5-Lions)
100 Mils Muliaina (New Zealand)
100 Rob Simmons (Australia)