Opta Facts: England v Ireland

Check out the Opta Facts, provided by Stats Perform, as Ireland build towards their Guinness Men’s Six Nations penultimate round clash with England at Twickenham Stadium on Saturday (kick-off 4.45pm).

– Ireland have won 58% (14/24) of their Guinness Men’s Six Nations matches against England, as the only nation to have won at least half of their games against England

– Andy Farrell’s men have won their last three matches against England in the Championship. No team has won four in a row in this fixture since Ireland did so between 2004 and 2007

– The last eight Tests between Ireland and England have all been decided by 10+ points, with England winning the first four matches in that run, and Ireland winning the most recent four

– Ireland will be aiming to win five consecutive Tests against England for the first time since 1972-1976

– Ireland have won their last 11 matches in the Six Nations, the joint-longest run for any team in the history of the Championship (including the Home/Five Nations)

– England put together a run of 11 victories between 2015 and 2017, which was ended by Ireland in the final round of the 2017 Six Nations and denied England back-to-back Grand Slams

– England defeated Wales 16-14 last time out at Twickenham, and will be aiming to win each of their home fixtures in a single Championship campaign for the first time since 2020 (v Ireland and Wales)

– Ireland (10) and England (9.7) rank first and second respectively for 22 entries per game in the 2024 Six Nations. Ireland have also averaged the most points per 22 entry (3.4), while England have averaged the fewest (1.8)

– England have committed two or more tacklers from 63% of their carries in the Six Nations this year, the best rate of any team. Ireland have recorded the best gainline success rate (55%)

– Ireland (30%) and England (26%) also rank first and second respectively for carry dominance so far during the current campaign

– Ireland (95%) and England (92%) are the only teams with a lineout success rate above 85% in the 2024 Six Nations. Individually, Ronan Kelleher (10/10) and Theo Dan (6/6) are the only hookers yet to miss a throw in the tournament

– Ben Earl (England) has made more carries than any other player in this year’s Championship (42). He also leads the way for metres in contact (78), ahead of Ireland’s Caelan Doris (73), James Lowe (71), Calvin Nash (68), and Bundee Aki (68), who make up the rest of the top five in that category

– Ireland’s Dan Sheehan has scored four tries in the 2024 Six Nations. Only one other player has scored more than two so far this year (Duhan van der Merwe – 5). No forward has ever scored five times in a single Championship (Imanol Harinordoquy, also 4 in 2004)

– Danny Care could win his 100th international cap in this match. He would be just the sixth player to reach a century of appearances for the England Men, after Jason Leonard, Ben Youngs, Owen Farrell, Dan Cole, and Courtney Lawes