Ireland vs England Prediction: Ireland can exact revenge
Last year's 23-22 defeat at Twickenham prevented Ireland from securing a second successive Grand Slam but they can make amends by setting themselves on the way to an unprecedented Six Nations three-peat.
Read on for my Ireland vs England prediction, as well as the latest team news and match odds.
No side has won the tournament three years in a row but with both England and France scheduled to visit Dublin, this appears to be as good a chance as any for the Irish to make history.
The English are first up on Saturday and with uncertainty over Steve Borthwick's role after a poor autumn campaign, further pressure could be placed on the Cumbrian.
Team News
Sam Prendergast has been picked ahead of last year's hero Jack Crowley at fly-half and will make his Six Nations debut, while Leinster colleague Ryan Baird - a favourite of the coaching staff and potential British & Irish Lions bolter - gets the nod at blindside flanker.
Twins Tom and Ben Curry will start together in England's back row for the first time, packing down either side of the scrum and split by number eight Ben Earl.
Lock Maro Itoje will captain the team, while scrum-half Alex Mitchell is deemed fit to feature from the off.
Ireland are 4/11 favourites to make a winning start to their Six Nations defence, with a tie 20/1 and England 23/10 to win in Dublin for the first time since 2019.
Betfred are offering 1/1 on England to win either half, boosted from 4/5, while an Ireland win featuring over 49.5 match points has gone from 7/4 to a more favourable 2/1.
Ireland -11 @ 13/8
Last year's win at Twickenham was England's best performance under Steve Borthwick and they will head to the Aviva Stadium looking to upset an Ireland side boasting a rookie number 10 and without British & Irish Lions Test prop Tadhg Furlong.
The champions also face doubts over how they will handle head coach Andy Farrell's absence as he prepares for this summer's Lions tour, but they can handle a Red Rose team still uncertain of their playing identity and coming off a miserable autumn which they finished with a 1-3 record.
Ireland also had their bumps but they have a magnificent core of Leinster players, all of whom have been performing in the Champions Cup, and could open their title defence with a statement victory.
Odds correct at time of publishing.
Dan Sheehan anytime tryscorer @ 6/4
Back from a knee injury and fit enough to make the bench, Dan Sheehan has to be considered in the try-scorer markets.
Expected to replace the also excellent Ronan Kelleher after 50 or so minutes, Sheehan scored two tries when these teams met in Dublin in 2023 and grabbed another brace in Leinster's win over Stormers last Saturday.
Sheehan is both tremendous in the tight and quick enough to trust himself to keep his width to score out wide. Arguably the game's premier hooker, he could add to his haul.
Odds correct at time of publishing.
Offers
Six Nations (31/01 – 15/03): Get double the odds if your winning First Tryscorer bet scores a 2nd in all Six Nations matches.
Six Nations: We will be Top Price on Ireland to win The Six Nations with selected bookmakers using Oddschecker for the comparison. (Available from 09:30 Wednesday 29/01)
Saturday: Place a Pre-Match single bet of £10 or more at odds of 1/2+ on Ireland v England on Saturday and get £5 in Free Bets to use In-Play Ireland v England. (Credited upon Bet Placement)
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