3 days ago
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12 min: Frustration for Ireland. The line-out was a little scrappy but they kept the ball. Then Higgins was on it and charging, but she lost it in contact. One step forward, one step back. That is their third knock-on after just 12 minutes. Have to be more clinical against England.
10 min: Kildunne launches a counter and eats up ground down the right wing. She finds Breach who continues the move. Ireland swarm and pinch the ball with Wafer fighting back. Clifford goes for the steal but loses her feet so Ireland get the chance to find touch with a penalty. They do, and will have the line-out throw in England’s patch.
TRY! England 7-0 Ireland (Cokayne, 8)
Water is wet, England score off the rolling maul! Just too powerful, to clinical, too good. There is no stopping the England hooker from five out. To the middle of the line, they get into formation and rumble over. Rowland slots the extras from out wide. Good kick.
7 min: Ireland are off their feet again, this time about seven metres out from theor own line. Feaunati, who has carried well, makes ground near the corner. The pen is kicked out, they set up a maul…
6 min: Good from Jones down the touchline. Solid in contact. Nice from Kildunne to find her with a quick pass and the centre went to the toe to continue the move. Ireland lost their feet so it’s a penalyty for England. They turn down the gettable points and find touch to set up an attack inside Ireland’s 22.
4 min: Lovely move by Ireland off the top of the line-out. Hogan made good ground as she beat away a tackler. But the continuity was missing and the ball was spilled soon after. Still, positive from the Irish off the set piece.
3 min: Kildunne is smoked in midfield, what a hit! But not before she fires away a cross-field kick. But that’s too long, straight out over halfway so Ireland get the line-out. King wins it and they’re moving down the line.
2 min: England fling the ball down the line but they spill it and Ireland hack ahead. England come back with Cokayne on the ball. Kildunne joins the line and makes ground, up to Irelandf’s 22. Rowland straightens and pops a short pass for a forward. Aitchison hoofs a cross-kick but it’s too deep and easily marked in the backfield.
1 min: Ireland knock on straioght from the kick-off so England will get a scrum feed inside the 22 towards the right touch.
And we’re off!
Twickenham is bathed in glorious sunshine. This should be good!
Cliodhna Moloney-MacDonald leads out the players on her own as she makes her 50th appearance for Ireland.
The rest of the cast follows shortly after before the anthems get underway.
England coach, John Mitchell, speaks to the BBC:
New team, new start and new learning. The freshness of the new girls has brought an enormous amount of energy.
I think our preparation has served us well. I think we are unfinished, we want to play a style of rugby that will bring us to the top again.
[On Emily Scarratt in her new role as a coach] She has been fantastic. The way she created an unstructured element to a structured element is amazing. She has insane knowledge of the game.
Ireland’s last win over England came in 2015.
It was a stunning victory in a classic game.
The past really is a foreign country.
Oval Insights have crunched the numbers and they have England winning by 42 points.
According to the supercomputer, Ireland have a 3% chance of victory.
I reckon that’s generous.
Ireland’s Aoife Dalton tells the BBC that her team is not here to merely make up the numbers:
It was amazing arriving here today. We are deffo here to not play for the occasion, we are here to play for ourselves. We won’t let any outside factors come in and affect our game today.
This is such a brilliant story.
While you, and the more than 76,000 fans inside the stadium, wait, why not tuck into some excellent writing from Sarah Rendell who will be our lead across the tournament:
Ireland team
It’s a return of the King, Erin King, to be exact, as the Irish skipper rejoins the group after missing out on last year’s World Cup with a knee injury.
Along with Aoife Wafer and Brittany Hogan, Ireland have a back row that can compete. It’s just a question if they can get enough front-foot ball.
If they can, and if they can get the ball moving down the line, Vicky Elmes Kinlan’s pace out wide could be a handful. On the other wing, the experienced Béibhinn Parsons offers solidity.
There’s also a lovely match-up as Cliodhna Maloney-Macdonald at hooker meets her club teammate and wife, Claudia, who starts on the wing for England.
When they leave the bench, Eilís Cahill and Katie Whelan will make their Test debuts.
Ireland: Flood; Parson, Dalton, Higgins, Elmes Kinland; O’Brien, Lane; Perry, Maloney-Macdonald, Djougang, Wall, Tuite, Hogan, King, Wafer.
Replacements: Jones, O’Dowd, Cahill, Campbell, Moore, Whelan, McGillivray, McGann.
England team
There are nine – nine! – World Cup winners absent this afternoon.
Prop Hannah Botterman’s ankle means she a host of teammates, including skipper Zoe Stratford, Lark Atkin-Davies and Rosie Galligan who are all pregnant and focussing on more important matters than the fate of a rugby ball.
Still, it’s a team stacked with talent. Ellie Kildunne starts at fullback with Megan Jones assuming captaincy duties from 13. Holly Aitchsion wins the battle for the 10 jersey while Sadia Kabeya forms the focal point of a world class back row.
England: Kildunne; Breach, Jones, Rowland, Maloney-Macdonald; Aitchison, Packer; Clifford, Cockayne, Bern, Talling, Ives Campion, Feaunati, Kabeya, Matthews.
Replacements: Powell, Carson, Muir, Lutui, Burton, Hunt, Harrison, Sing.
Preamble
Daniel Gallan
Hello and welcome to the start of our coverage of the 2026 Women’s Six Nations.
England are revved up and ready to stretch their record unbeaten run of 33 matches and I wouldn’t bet against them making it 38 by the time the tournament ends.
They are, for my money, the most dominant sports team on the planet. Surely they are among the most dominant sports teams of all time. A professional league, investors who put their money where they mouths are, and a public who fully get behind them. It’s no wonder they are lightyears ahead of the competition.
Ireland will be eager to play their part. They came within a score of beating France in the World Cup quarterfinals last year. They have one of the best players on the planet, Aoife Wafer, rampaging in the loose, and of course there will be no shortage of motivation.
But they’re up against the world champions on their own patch. Anything other than a romping victory for the Red Roses would constitute a major upset.
Kick-off at Twickenham at 2:25 pm.
Teams and other updates to come.
