England v Ireland Prediction: Underestimate Irish at your peril
Ireland will feel like they have a point to prove on Saturday (14:10, ITV1 & RTE 2) when they open Round 3 of the 2026 Six Nations will their clash against rivals England at Allianz Stadium.
Alex Jack provides his best bets in his England vs Ireland prediction piece, as well as all the essential team news and match odds for the tussle at Twickenham.
England vs Ireland Betting Tips
*odds correct at time of publication
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Team news
Starting with England, Ellis Genge, Luke Cowan-Dickie and Joe Heyes start in the front row, while Maro Itoje will earn his 100th cap on Saturday when pairing up with Ollie Chessum in the second row.
Tom Curry, Ben Earl and Henry Pollock start in the back row, while Alex Mitchell and George Ford go again in the half-backs.
Fraser Dingwall and Ollie Lawrence start in the centres, while Henry Arundell has been cleared to play after his red card at Murrayfield and starts in a back three alongside Tommy Freeman and Freddie Steward.
As for Ireland, Jeremy Loughman, Dan Sheehan and Tadhg Furlong start in the front row, with locks Joe McCarthy and James Ryan in the engine room.
Tadhg Beirne, Josh van der Flier and Caelan Doris start in the back row, with Jamison Gibson-Park and Jack Crowley the half-back pairing.
Stuart McCloskey and Garry Ringrose combine in the centres, while James Lowe, Robert Baloucoune and Jamie Osborne form the back three for the visitors.]
England are the 2/9 favourites for the win on Saturday, while Ireland are 10/3 to head back to Dublin with the victory.
A draw at Allianz Stadium is 22/1, while England to be leading at the half-time and full-time whistles are 8/15.
Ireland +9 handicap @ 21/20
Ireland might have been unconvincing in their 20-13 win over Italy last weekend in Dublin, but it was a victory that got them back on the right track after their heavy defeat against France in Round 1.
Sam Prendergast came in for plenty of criticism for his two performances and Jack Crowley gets an opportunity to impress in the No.10 jersey.
Crowley is a better defensive option, while he also has the kicking game that can give the likes of Lowe and Baloucoune the chance to challenge in the aerial battle.
Ireland have won five of their last six games against England, who themselves go into this game on the back of a humbling 31-20 Calcutta Cup defeat at the hands of Scotland.
The Irish will be determined to put pressure on Steve Borthwick’s side and the visitors look to be good value at 21/20 with a +9 handicap in London on Saturday.
Odds correct at time of publishing.
Henry Pollock anytime tryscorer @ 6/5
Having been used exclusively as an impact player at Test level, Henry Pollock finally gets his first England start this weekend.
Scoring eight tries in 16 appearances for both club and country this term, the Northampton Saints back-rower has been in excellent form.
Given his ability to score tries out of seemingly nothing and his form this season, Pollock catches the eye in the anytime tryscorer market.
Odds correct at time of publishing.
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