When and where to watch Ireland vs England | Time, TV and team news for Six Nations opener

January 28, 2025

Back-to-back Six Nations champions Ireland host neighbours England in a mouth-watering opening fixture on Saturday.

Ireland are bidding to become the first country to claim three consecutive titles since the championship was expanded 25 years ago.

Ireland claimed Grand Slam success in 2023 and were only denied a repeat of that feat last year by a last-gasp Marcus Smith drop goal in a 23-22 loss to England.

Ireland have an immediate opportunity to avenge the dramatic Twickenham defeat when Steve Borthwick’s men visit Dublin on Saturday evening. Here’s what you need to know:

Where is the game on?

Ireland kick-off their Six Nations campaign with a home fixture at the Aviva Stadium, Dublin.

What time does it start?

The game is set to get underway at 4.45pm.

Where can I watch the match?

The game will be broadcast live on Virgin Media and Virgin Media Player with coverage from 4pm.

Are tickets still available?

As is generally the case when the neighbours clash, tickets for the game are completely sold out with a huge interest in the fixture from both sides of the pond.

What are the odds?

Both Ireland and England come into this game as evens to take the win, while a draw is priced at 16/1.

What are the teams?

The Ireland squad is on a training camp in Portugal and has yet to name their team. Tadhg Furlong has been ruled out of the game after suffering a recurrence of a calf strain in training on Saturday and has returned to Dublin for further assessment. Connacht’s Jack Aungier has been called up in his place.

Following a training session on Tuesday, Assistant Coach Andrew Goodman said that they have “a pretty fully-fit squad apart from Tadhg (Furlong) unfortunately leaving us earlier in the week, there’s guys pushing each other and fighting hard for positions but doing it in the right way, pushing each other and competing.”

England, however, have sprung a surprise by uniting the Curry twins in their back row for Saturday’s Guinness Six Nations opener.

For the first time, Tom and Ben Curry will feature together in the starting XV, filling the flanker positions either side of number eight Ben Earl. Tom Curry is given the number six jersey.

In another selection twist, Cadan Murley will make his debut on the left wing after being given the nod ahead of Ollie Sleightholme, who filled the position in England’s most recent outing against Japan in November.

ENGLAND: 15 Freddie Steward, 14 Tommy Freeman, 13 Ollie Lawrence, 12 Henry Slade, 11 Cadan Murley, 10 Marcus Smith, 9 Alex Mitchell; 1 Ellis Genge, 2 Luke Cowan-Dickie, 3 Will Stuart, 4 Maro Itoje (c) 5 George Martin, 6 Tom Curry, 7 Ben Curry, 8 Ben Earl.

Replacements: Theo Dan, Fin Baxter, Joe Heyes, Ollie Chessum, Chandler Cunningham-South, Tom Willis, Harry Randall, Fin Smith.

ADVERTISEMENT – CONTINUE READING BELOW