Famous Fixtures: England v Ireland
England and Ireland have shared memorable matches over the years and the historic rivalry is set to continue on Saturday.
2003: Ireland 6-42 England
England recorded a historic 6-42 win at Lansdowne Road, and in doing so claimed their first Grand Slam in eight years, thanks to 15 points from the boot of Jonny Wilkinson, and a haul of second half tries.
The first half was a close affair though, as Ireland’s David Humphries matched his English counterpart with a penalty and drop goal – the converted try of Lawrence Dallaglio was the only difference between the teams.
That would be it for the hosts though, as Martin Johnson’s men racked up 29 unanswered second half points courtesy of scores from Mike Tindall, Will Greenwood (2) and Dan Luger. Take a trip down memory lane, and watch the highlights.
2008: England 33-10 Ireland
England ended their 2008 Six Nations campaign on a high with a victory over Ireland at Twickenham. A young Danny Cipriani made his England debut and kicked 18 points to help Brian Ashton’s side on their way to the 33-10 win.
Captained by Phil Vickery and featuring the likes of Steve Borthwick, Nick Easter and Richard Wigglesworth, England were looking to bounce back following a 15-9 defeat to Scotland a week earlier.
Ireland’s only try came within four minutes and seemed to snap England into action, as they responded with tries from Paul Sackey, Matthew Tait, and Jamie Noon. The Irish were kept scoreless in the second half as Cipriani’s three conversions and four penalty kicks made the difference at the final whistle.
2012: England 30-9 Ireland
Earning his fifth Test cap Owen Farrell notched up 20 points - six penalties and a conversion - to down the Irish 30-9 at Twickenham, and see England finish second overall in the Six Nations standings.
Ireland had beaten England in seven of their previous eight meetings, and with both teams evenly matched the boot ruled the first 40 minutes, with Farrell and Johnny Sexton trading penalties for a 9-6 half time score.
But England’s dominance in the scrum made the difference in the second half, and the game’s tries came as a direct result of the pack. One penalty try was awarded, before a quick tap-and-go off the back of another penalised scrum saw Ben Youngs the beneficiary of England’s second, confirming a famous win.
2016: England 21-10 Ireland
England’s hopes of a Grand Slam remained intact thanks to a 21-10 win over Ireland in what was head coach Eddie Jones’ third game in charge.
Ireland scored the first points of the game through Johnny Sexton, but not to be outdone, Owen Farrell notched up two of his own to give England a slender 6-3 lead at the break.
Conor Murray's converted try gave Ireland the lead five minutes into the second half, but the hosts struck back 12 minutes later courtesy of Anthony Watson in the left corner, before full back Mike Brown dotted down in the right corner on the 62-minute mark, sealing the win.
Stunning the Champions - 2019
England got their 2019 Guinness Six Nations campaign off to a winning start with a thrilling 32-20 bonus point victory against defending champions Ireland in Dublin.
Tries from Jonny May and Elliot Daly, as well as seven points from the boot of Owen Farrell, gave England a 17-10 lead at the break with Ireland’s try coming from Cian Healy.
Johnny Sexton briefly narrowed England’s lead in the second half before two tries from Henry Slade secured a famous win for the visitors.
