6 Nations Ireland v England; Daly & England to Edge Dublin Encounter by 5

Categories: Rugby | Published by: Andy Nelson

20/03/2021

Updated: 25th October 2021

Ireland v England

Dublin

Kick off 4.45pm

Article by; Daniel Cullinane

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England will be desperate to finish the 2021 Six Nations on a high. The tournament didn’t start well for them with a loss at Twickenham to Scotland. They got back to winning ways against Italy, but it was a stuttering and far from convincing performance. A loss to Wales followed, with a couple of highly dubious Welsh tries. The referee later acknowledged that they should have been disallowed.

But even if the tries had been struck off, England would still have lost the match. Their discipline kept Wales in the game, and in the last twenty minutes Wales dominated England to seal a record win.

The critics piled the pressure on the England head coach Eddie Jones. He persisted in selecting players who were clearly short of game time. Accuracy and in one or two cases fitness, were clearly in short supply.

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In the fourth round, England took on tournament favourites France. Eliot Daly paid the price for some average performances and took a seat on the bench. In his place, the exciting rookie Max Malins wore the No15 shirt. He had a mixed game but clearly has a big future in the England shirt. England were clinical.

Many pundits have said it was their best performance since the World Cup semi final in 2019. The passes stuck, the kicks were competitive and their discipline had improved. They won the game in the final minutes to end French Grand Slam hopes.

Ireland have had a mixed tournament too. They lost to Wales in the first round, after going down to 14 men early in the match. They then lost out by a couple of points to France in Dublin. Like every other team they put a load of points on Italy to secure a win. They followed that win with another against Scotland. They made hard work of it, but the ever present Irish fly half Johnny Sexton kicked a penalty right at the death to win the game.

Like England, Ireland will want to round off this competition with a victory. The Irish have suffered some heavy defeats at the hands of the English in the last couple of years. A win this time around would go some way to adding gloss to a mostly disappointing tournament. Ireland’s performances have improved through the rounds and Johnny Sexton continues to be Ireland’s talisman.

Head coach Andy Farrell must surely be thinking it’s time to look at fly half alternatives. But this Saturday, Farrell will hope for a stellar performance from his veteran No 10.

6 Nations Ireland v England Who will Win?

England will go to Dublin in confident mood after their win against the French. Eliot Daly is back in the side, but this time he is picked at outside centre, his preferred position. For too long he has been shoehorned into the fullback role. By picking him in the centre, this could be a real game changer for England. They have a physical set of forwards and a rapid back line.

Ireland will have to be at their absolute best defensively, stay disciplined and take the points when they’re on offer. But I think it will be England’s day and they will win this match by 5 points.

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