Ireland vs England Six Nations 2025 Preview
Topping off a titanic opening weekend of Six Nations rugby is a monumental clash between the second-best-ranked team on the planet and the ever present and potential dark horses of the red roses.
Ireland come into this as close favourites for the whole tournament and likely favourites for the match but don’t count out England for a shock upset in Dublin.
Here is everything you need to know about the final game in round 1 of the 2025 Six Nations.
Previous Six Nations meetings
2020- England 24-12 Ireland
2021- Ireland 32-18 England
2022- England 15-32 Ireland
2023- Ireland 29-16 England
2024- England 23-22 Ireland
This is a game where form and momentum prior to the game often play little part in the match outcome but what it does guarantee is more often than not, it’s an absolute rollercoaster of a game.
Team News
Ireland Starting XV
Andrew Porter
Ronan Kelleher
Finlay Bealham
James Ryan
Tadhg Beirne
Ryan Baird
Josh Van Der Flier
Caelan Doris ©
Jamison Gibson-Park
Sam Pendergast
James Lowe
Bundee Aki
Gary Ringrose
Mack Hansen
Hugo Keenan
Ireland’s starting squad looks incredible with bags of experience but also an exciting dash of fresh meat at fly-half with Pendergast filling the boots of Irish legend Jonathan Sexton and will no doubt be an interesting watch to see how the young fly-half copes.
England Starting XV
Ellis Genge
Luke Cowan-Dickie
Will Stuart
Maro Itoje
George Martin
Tom Curry
Ben Curry
Ben Earl
Alex Mitchell
Marcus Smith
Cadan Murley
Henry Slade
Ollie Lawrence
Tommy Freeman
Freddie Steward
England will be looking to not only shock the home supporters with a win in Dublin but also send a message to all the other nations that they are gunning for the top spot.
The Curry brothers duo on either flank has raised a few eyebrows and the English pack is going to have a certain tough test for the entire 80 minutes.
Players To Watch
Ireland - Jamison Gibson-Park
Gibson-Park is arguably one of if not the best scrum half in world rugby right now and could be key at getting the Irish attack on the front foot and will be vital as a leader in what could be a tightly contested game.
His experience will not only help the Irish’s game management but could also be key to exploiting an English defence which was far from convincing last tournament.
England - Marcus Smith
Smith is a player full of excitement and when he’s full of confidence he can be a danger to even the best of defences.
As long as he doesn’t try and overplay or force anything that could cost England then he’ll be more than capable of impacting the game and putting England in with a fighting chance.
Where To Watch
The game is scheduled for a 4:45 pm kick-off on Saturday, February 1st at the Aviva Stadium in Dublin.
In the UK the game will be shown live on ITV1 as well as on ITV’s streaming service ITVX. The game can also be listened to on radio on BBC Radio 5 live.