Six Nations fans are usually made to wait to watch Ireland and England face each other, but not this year as the sides meet in Dublin on the opening weekend.
Listen live on BBC Radio 5 Live & BBC Sounds; text commentary and highlights on BBC Sport website and app; watch on ITV1Only twice have Ireland and England locked horns on the opening weekend in the Six Nations era, with England winning both times, in 2000 and 2019.
When they met last March, the stakes were sky-high. With seconds left, Marcus Smith's drop-goal sent Twickenham crazy. Ireland's hopes of back-to-back Grand Slams were crushed and suddenly all was fine in England's world. Those results were, of course, bookended by a couple of thumping wins over Japan, but there is no escaping the sense that English rugby needs a lift, theAnd while that trio offers speed, mobility and breakdown menace, the selection may give Ireland - for whom the 6ft 6in Ryan Baird is a surprise inclusion - the edge at the line-out."We have enough line-out jumpers.
With head coach Andy Farrell deep in British and Irish Lions prep, his assistant Simon Easterby has stepped up to lead a team who huffed and puffed their way through November.That series exposed some alarming frailties, with 13 penalties shipped against both New Zealand and Argentina, 23 turnovers conceded against Australia, and 49 handling errors combined in the All Blacks and Wallabies games. And the line-out, like at the World Cup, faltered at key times.
It is, however, still a formidable pack, with Josh van der Flier and captain Caelan Doris among those to have found form with Leinster prior to entering Ireland camp.
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