Sarah Rendell’s match report is right here:
And that is the lot for today. England march on to a shot at the grand slam against France next week. Au revoir for now.
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Louis Deacon, the forwards coach, says they want to sell out Twickenham before the next World Cup.
He also says: “I’m a maul fan. We used our maul to suck their defence in.”
Maggie Alphonsi asks Deacon if a lack of competitiveness in these games is a problem. His answer isn’t very complimentary to their rivals.
“We get our competitiveness in training … the girls really go at each other in training,” Deacon replies.
“That’s where our competitiveness is, in training, to be honest with you.”
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Scott Bemand, the Ireland head coach, speaks: “The Irish girls are quite a young group … coming into an occasion like this … the girls have to handle the occasion. I think we looked quite young. After half time the girls showed something after a reasonably bruising first half.
“Ireland haven’t scored a point against England for three years I think [not since 2019, in fact] … so it’s a small win … We’ll take our learnings from this … the great thing about sport is you get to go again.”
“We’ve got some really good players coming through. It’s learning to put it out there on these occasions.
“We’ve got to keep being positive. England played really well, fair credit to them … we’ll keep going after stuff, we want to fire some shots in these big games, and we’ll keep going after it.”
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Abby Dow, another England hat-trick heroine, has a chat: “We always want to do more … it’s incredible to be a part of. We had Meg [Jones] go to 10, Holly [Aitchison] go to nine … hopefully it’s great to watch.
“[It’s about] taking the easy option, which sometimes isn’t that easy … We showed up as one, we played as one … credit to Ireland, they tried to play their gameplan … but we found some channels that were maybe a bit weaker.
“John Mitchell has given us new questions … How good can we be?”
Megan Jones chips in: “We’re all outstanding rugby players … Our connections are getting stronger.”
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Kildunne speaks to the BBC. What is it like being her, asks Sonja McLaughlan: “It’s like any of the other girls. We’re so happy to play in front of this crowd.
“No disrespect to Ireland but we really turned it on, it became running rugby, and it was enjoyable.
“We talk a lot about taking the handbrake off … keep trying new things … he [Mitchell] gives us bags of confidence and belief and we just do our thing.
“A game like today … we don’t think too far ahead. Let’s take in what’s just happened. 48,000 people came to watch us play and next week it’ll probably be 48,000 French fans. We’ll just take it as it comes.
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The England players look pretty thrilled with that. In terms of the ruthlessness with which they took their opportunities that was impressive.
On the downside, Ireland were falling off tackles from very early on, and were never able to exert much pressure in terms of disrupting England’s ball.
Full time: England 88-10 Ireland
The Red Roses ultimately score 14 tries. Complete dominance and a very fun day out for the fans. England will go to Bordeaux next week looking to defeat France and complete another grand slam.
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79 min: Ellie Kildunne is named player of the match. Fair.
Try! England 88-10 Ireland (Feaunati)
Aldcroft, Scarratt and Breach are all involved and Maddie Feaunati scores her first England try on the left after the ball is offered up to her in space. That was another sensational score with a rampaging run by Aldcroft and another brilliant bit of distribution by Scarratt.
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77 min: Today’s official attendance is 48,778. Decent!
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Try! 75 min: England 83-10 Ireland (Kildunne)
Hat-trick for Kildunne. A sensational kick from hand by Scarratt, off the side of her right boot, again sees her making all the difference, again showing composure in contact. The ball bounces into the space identified by Scarratt behind the Irish defensive line, and Kildunne nabs the ball and runs over for her hat-trick. Aitchison misses the conversion.
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Try! 72 min: England 78-10 Ireland (Breach)
Penalty for England. They attack down the right wing, gobbling up the territory like women possessed. There are some tired bodies in that Irish defensive line, although they continue to compete as best they can.
Anyway, Breach scores on the left wing after a smart little kick over the top from Aitchison. Aitchison converts.
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68 min: Try! England 71-10 Ireland
A seriously classy offload in contact by the replacement centre Scarratt creates the space for Kildunne to streak over the line for her second try. That’s liquid rugby. And the conversion goes over too.
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68 min: Sydney Gregson on now as John Mitchell’s bench-emptying continues.
England have made 1,060metres in attack against 400-odd for Ireland.
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64 min: Try! England 64-10 Ireland (Dow)
The elusive England right wing is released in space and she scorches beyond the Irish cover and over the try line for her hat-trick. Extras added. Ten tries for England.
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63 min: Emily Scarratt comes on for Heard. Maddie Feaunati is also on.
Molony, O’Dowd, McGrath, Ikahihifo, Scuffil-McCabe are on for Ireland.
“I’m not too thrilled about that,” John Mitchell says on the BBC of the penalty try. “It’s good to learn from something like that.
“The back line is really starting to show some cohesion … there is some subtle familiarisation between them and there is always somebody in space … that’s where we want to be.”
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Try! 58 min: England 57-10 Ireland
A brilliant jinking run by Jones from within the Irish 22 and she skips in for the ninth try of the afternoon for England. Jones has been excellent and certainly one of England’s better performers, along with Kildunne, but I make Heard player of the match thus far.
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Penalty try Ireland! Yellow card England! 56 min: England 50-10 Ireland
That is a superb piece of collective work from Ireland. The scrum-half Lucy Packer, only just on the field as a replacement, is sent to the sin bin for 10 minutes for collapsing the driving maul which was threatening the English line.
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55 min: Ireland construct an excellent driving maul to within a metre or so of the England line … and the TMO and the referee have a look at the replay after it collapses.
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55 min: Muir and Hunt have gone off for England with Clifford and Lucy Packer on.
54 min: Rosie Galligan, who was meant to start was injured in the warm-up, is pictured with her left arm in a sling or a brace of some sort. Unfortunate for her.
52 min: Ireland find themselves in the unfamiliar position of being in the England 22 with the ball in hand. They try to work the ball from left to right, searching for an opening, but the English tackling is too strong and the Irish are gradually driven back about 15 metres having been in a promising position. There is a massive hit from Heard in there, and she smiles as she watches the replay on the big screen. It’s a moment that sums up England’s dominance all round.
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Try! 48 min: England 50-3 Ireland (Kabeya)
A meaty carry by Packer takes England to within a couple of metres. Kabeya stretches for the line under the posts and although the referee initially rules out a try, a TMO review shows a clear grounding on the line. That is eight tries for England. Aitchison converts for the half-century for England.
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48 min: Botterman has gone off for Mackenzie Carson, for England.
Now Kabeya looks to have powered on to the tryline for England’s latest five-pointer, their eighth …
Try! 44 min: England 43-3 Ireland (Breach)
O’Brien spills a ball in midfield and England ruthlessly exploit the turnover possession. Dalton rushes up in defence on the right edge for Ireland, but England ship it out to the wing and Breach has the pace to punish the visitors with a long-range finish. Aitchison misses the conversion narrowly after Breach indulges in what appears to be an equestrian-themed celebration.
Breen and Deely are on for Ireland, with Higgins and Delany off.
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41 min: Kildunne and Hunt both go for a garryowen in the England half. It looks like a mix-up but Hunt claims it anyway.
Second half kick-off!
Let’s get back out there.
“We need to put the foot on the throat now,” says Lou Meadows, the England attack coach.
But will it be Murder on the Rugby Field after half time? It certainly looks like it.
Sophie Ellis Bextor is entertaining the crowd with “Murder on the Dancefloor” right now.
“As featured in Saltburn”, it says on YouTube.
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Zoe Aldcroft is on the scoresheet. Sarah Rendell spoke to her during the buildup:
Half time: England 38-3 Ireland
Meg Jones is over the tryline again … but the referee rules it out for a forward pass. And that’s the half. A painful one for Ireland but England have played some lovely stuff. Six tries and 80 carries and tonnes of missed tackles from the visitors.
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40 min: Aitchison feeds Heard in midfield with a whippy, flat pass. England probe down their right, then down their left. They win a penalty and will have time for another big driving maul before half time …
Try! 38 min: England 38-3 Ireland (Dow)
No doubt about that one. Heard, who is having an outstanding game with ball in hand, helps the ball on close to the line and there is space for Dow to sprint in for her second try of the match after she is fed by Kildunne. This is utterly clinical stuff from England and Ireland have no answer.
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36 min: Dow is over in the corner again! I fancy she dropped that ball … It was more poor defending by Ireland, and Dow dove in by the corner on the England right, but clearly spilt the ball as she tried to touch it down. The try is disallowed and it’s a goal line drop-out for Ireland.
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35 min: Lark Atkin-Davies is injured and is being helped from the field. Connie Powell is introduced.
34 min: Ireland are pinned back again but win a penalty for England going off feet. They kick for touch but the lineout is overthrown and possession is presented back to the host, who proceed to build another cohesive attack. Botterman is held up looking for the sixth try.
Try! 29 min: England 33-3 Ireland (Kildunne)
Ireland’s front-rower Linda Djougang needs some treatment but thankfully she is OK to continue … England have another attacking lineout and there is an inevitability about the try that soon arrives for Kildunne, her seventh of the tournament. It was clean lineout ball, a shove up closer to the line in a driving maul, and then attacking options aplenty for England with too many Irish defenders committed to defending the maul.
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26 min: Kildunne fields a kick in the England 22. The chase isn’t good from Ireland and Kildunne wastes little time in sprinting beyond two, three, four tacklers and into the danger zone for the Irish … Béibhinn Parsons does extremely well to track back and flatten the rampaging Harlequin.
Penalty: 24 min: England 26-3 Ireland (O'Brien)
A very good pressure kick by the fly-half, O’Brien, and that is the first score Ireland have managed against England in the Women’s Six Nations since 2019. They are on the board after a difficult first quarter.
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23 min: Ireland build a positive attack, and win a penalty. O’Brien puts up a high kick during the advantage but it’s brought back for a kick at the posts.
Try! 20 min: England 26-0 Ireland (Aldcroft)
The space created by the mazy run by Aldcroft means the Irish defence, again, is all at sea. Aldcroft picks up and carries into the 22 and there is no one who looks remotely capable of stopping her crashing under the posts. Aitchison converts again and this is going to be a cricket score at the current rate.
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19 min: Another massive scrum from England. Ireland keep the ball but can’t make any progress. Kildunne scoops up a speculative kick by O’Brien and roars into the visitors’ half …
16 min: A knock-on from Ireland from the restart makes an already bad day slightly worse … but they get away with it and now they have an attacking scrum and a potential platform.
Try! 13 min: England 19-0 Ireland (Jones)
England move the ball out of the maul quickly, rather than look to truck it up, and there are runners everywhere. Dow makes it to within a couple of metres, and Jones, the outside centre, is half-tackled near the line but manages to stretch for try number three. Aitchison converts.
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12 min: Packer wins a penalty with some determined work at the breakdown. The penalty is booted into the Irish 22 and England will have a chance for try No 3. O’Brien executed a snazzy dummy on Ireland’s previous possession.
Try! 10 min: England 12-0 Ireland (Hunt)
Hunt storms into the Ireland 22 after a carry by Muir and the visiting defence is totally exposed. English players are queuing up, Botterman offloads smartly to Hunt, who has made herself available again after the initial carry. There is lots of space for Hunt, the 35-year-old, to power over. Aitchison converts and Ireland are staring down the barrel despite a positive start.
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Try! 7 min: England 5-0 Ireland (Dow)
Kildunne makes a burst towards the Irish 22. An upright tackle comes in from Aoife Dalton. England keep the continuity going and Kabeya manages to get a scruffy pass out to Dow on the England right. The wing has three defenders to beat but some very indifferent defending allows her to sneak around the outside for the first try. The conversion is missed, but Ireland can’t afford to drop off tackles like that.
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4 min: A big shove from the English pack at the first scrum and that is a noticeable momentum shift after a strong start by Ireland. Penalty advantage, and England can go to a first lineout of the match after kicking for touch. They begin to build some attacking continuity – all thanks to that massive scrum.
2 min: A couple of errors early on from England in possession and a couple of kicks downfield from O’Brien, the Ireland No 10. Kildunne clears for England from inside their 22 after a searching kick by O’Brien, and the visitors have an attacking lineout.
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First-half kick off
Here we go.
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Galligan ruled out for England
Morwenna Talling starts for England. Rosie Galligan has pulled out during the warmup. Lizzie Hanlon comes into the England squad as a result.
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The teams are out. Five minutes until kick-off. Time for the anthems … and perhaps time to have a read of Sarah Rendell’s preview with the England second row, Zoe Aldcroft.
“We had an unbelievable scrum against Wales and that allowed us in the backs to do our thing in a bit of space,” Ireland’s Dannah O’Brien told the official Women’s Six Nations website this week. “While the penalties that the forwards earned also allowed us to gain good field position and stay on the front foot …
“It’s going to be really exciting, I don’t think many players in our team will have ever experienced a crowd like what will be at Twickenham before so we just have to embrace it.”
Scott Bemand, the Ireland head coach [and previous England attack coach] has a chat with Sonja McLaughlan of the BBC: “England know how to do this kind of occasion … nearly 50,000 people out there – this is great for our team to experience this. We don’t want to be bystanders in it – we want to put our own game out there.
“I’m really proud as an Englishman that we can bring Ireland here and show it [Twickenham] off at its best.
“You want to test yourself against the best in the world. It’s a fantastic opportunity.”
Sam Monaghan, who misses out today, is not injured but apparently has been left out in one of those two changes to Ireland’s side: “Sam’s a big player for us … her leadership is fantastic,” says Bemand. “She had a bit of time out before coming to the Six Nations … it was a really tough call, but her ‘markers’ didn’t quite get over the line for this one.”
“Really useful to be back here [at Twickenham] again,” John Mitchell, the England head coach, tells the BBC. “It’s our big ‘why’ in what drives us.”
“In terms of performance, the girls are starting to free up, to trust who they’re with … and that’s the most pleasing thing.”
Gabby Logan asks about England’s discipline issue: “We’re definitely aware of their behaviour,” Mitchell says. “We’re trying to make the girls responsible … but we do need to play on the edge … we like to dominate the collision … and we’re encouraging that.
“The game is going to be unfair at times … you’ve just got to deal with it.” [I think he means refereeing there, but I am not entirely sure.]
Then, Logan asks about England’s indifferent goal kicking: “We do have weaknesses. We’re aware of that … we’re not trying to bite off everything at once.
“At some point in time, when we get put into an arm wrestle – and hopefully we do today because we’ll learn from it … we might have to win it through kicking. It hasn’t gone unnoticed.”
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Ireland overpowered Wales 36-5 in Cork last week, scoring five tries. Aoife Wafer, the blindside flanker, was player of the match. They’ll be coming in with plenty of confidence.
Sarah Rendell spoke to the England second row, Zoe Aldcroft, who is relishing the chance to play in front of another big crowd at “HQ”, as some of the more irritating English rugby fans call it.
Handily enough, the Ireland team arrived in plenty of time for kick-off too:
The team have arrived! 🤩#IrishRugby #WeAreIreland pic.twitter.com/t2qAue14pZ
— Irish Rugby (@IrishRugby) April 20, 2024
As have the fans:
The Irish fans are out in force today at Twickenham! ☘️#IrishRugby #WeAreIreland pic.twitter.com/Xt0yoslEGV
— Irish Rugby (@IrishRugby) April 20, 2024
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A healthy crowd was on hand outside Twickenham to welcome the Red Roses.
A roaring welcome for the #RedRoses at HQ 🏠#ENGvIRE | #GuinnessW6N | @ContiUK pic.twitter.com/VVUYcaw54A
— Red Roses (@RedRosesRugby) April 20, 2024
The last time England lost a Women’s Six Nations match was in France, on 10 March 2018: an 18-17 loss against in Grenoble. As stated it’s 27 straight wins in this competition now, and today would make it 28.
Team news
Two changes for England: Marlie Packer, who began on the bench in last weekend’s win in Scotland, returns to the starting XV at No 7. Lark Atkin-Davies is back at hooker for the suspended Amy Cokayne who was sent off in the victory north of the border.
Hannah O’Connor starts in Ireland’s second row, replacing Sam Monaghan, while Aoife Dalton is selected at No 12, in place of Enya Breen.
England: 15 Kildunne, 14 Dow, 13 Jones, 12 Heard, 11 Breach, 10 Aitchison, 9 Hunt; 1 Botterman, 2 Atkin-Davies, 3 Muir, 4 Galligan, 5 Aldcroft, 6 Kabeya, 7 Packer, 8 Matthews Replacements: 16 Powell, 17 Carson, 18 Clifford, 19 Talling, 20 Feaunati, 21 Packer, 22 Scarratt, 23 Gregson
Ireland: 15 Delany; 14 Corrigan, 13 Higgins, 12 Dalton, 11 Parsons, 10 O’Brien, 9 Reilly; 1 Linda Djougang, 2 Jones, 3 Haney, 4 Wall, 5 O’Connor, 6 Wafer, 7 McMahon (c), 8 Hogan. Replacements: 16 Moloney, 17 O’Dowd, 18 McGrath, 19 Tuite, 20 Ikahihifo, 21 Scuffil-McCabe, 22 Breen, 23 Deely.
Here's a reminder of your Red Roses squad to face Ireland today in the #GuinnessW6N 📋
— Red Roses (@RedRosesRugby) April 20, 2024
** We've had a swap of numbers, with @rosie_galligan now in the 4 jersey & @zoealdcroft_ wearing the 5 **@O2 | #WearTheRose pic.twitter.com/MmYWWysZqr
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Preamble
The Red Roses continue to bloom. England are three from three in the Women’s Six Nations and victory against Ireland today will potentially set up a grand-slam decider against France next week – provided Les Bleues defeat Wales tomorrow.
More worryingly from an Irish point of view, they have not beaten England since 2015, and not even mustered a single point against them since 2019. Around 50,000 supporters will be inside Twickenham this afternoon, the majority of them hoping for England’s 28th consecutive ‘W’ in this tournament.
The powerful home pack has lately been complimented by an increasingly expansive attack so if England’s set-piece functions well, this is realistically a question of how many points England will score. Ireland will no doubt have something to say about that – but can they defend well enough to give John Mitchell’s team a scare?
Kick-off: 2.15pm BST
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