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35 min: Ireland win a penalty inside England’s half and O’Brien finds touch just outside the 22. Can they do anything with this? No! Ives Campion rises high and steals the ball. Once again, Ireland fluff their lines. Aitchison clears and finds touch 10 metres down field.

TRY! England 21-0 Ireland (Bern, 31)

Bern at the double! It’s not from a maul but off lovely support line that will please any prop in the game. The initial maul was held up with Wafer doing superbly, but England kept their heads and Packer went back down the blindside. Breach came close but was hit. Not before she found Bern on the inside and the big prop burst over. Rowland brought her shooting boots and nails a tough conversion from the left.

Updated

30 min: When England hit the switch they are able to eat up ground at will. From the scrum they go right where Breach receives a wonder short pass and she’s up the right tram. T hey recycle and go through the hands with with some stiff carries. They lose the ball in contact on the left but have the advantage and go to the corner again. Will the maul?

28 min: The answer is no. England’s line speed on defence is immense and they are giving Ireland’s first and second receivers no time to breathe. They force the knock-on and will get a scrum from about where the initial Irish line-out took place.

25 min:. Weird tempo to this game. England on the ball but they spill it. Now Ireland have a scrum. Now Ireland have a penalty! Bern penalised. Better from Ireland’s pack who are at least holding their own in the set piece. But can they do anything with this ball now that it’s been hoofed over halfway?

23 min: Ireland do well to resist England off the line-out and then swoop over Kildunne to steal the ball off the deck. They come away with the penalty. But they can’t do anythign with it and in the blink of an eye, England are back attacking inside Ireland’s half. Ireland are doing so much well, but they just can’t find any continuity.

22 min: Ireland can’t keep hold of the ball. England’s pace at the breakdown is proving too much. The Roses pinch a turnover on halfway before Packer gets the ball, looks up and lands a wonderful 50-22 with a raking box kick. That is world class from the England scrummie. Now another chance to set up an attack inside Ireland’s red zone.

TRY! England 14-0 Ireland (Bern, 20)

And another! England’s forwards are just too powerful. The maul made ground but not enough so they had to go through the hands. Packer kept it ticking and when Bern picked up under the shade of the poles, she had one thing on her mind. No stopping her from so close. Rowland nudges the extras over.

Updated

18 min: Breach almost breaches the defence after the initial rolling maul falters. The winger came inches away from unfurling a try-assisting off-load. No matter, they had the advantage so they’ll line-out and maul again in the left corner.

16 min: England win the scrum penalty and in a flash they’re down town. Kildunne running rampant. Kabeya – everywhere – stitching things together. They win another penalty for an Irish player straying offside and they want to go quick, but Aitchison calms things down and hoofs it out within touching distance. Just about. Seven out perhaps.

14 min: Aitchison runs back and keeps a great kick to the corner in play. She then scoops the ball up abnd returns a kick of her own., Great skill. She doesn’t find much ground, but moves the line-out 20 metres down field. Lane then knocks on at the back of the ruck. Four spills by the Irish.

12 min: Frustration for Ireland. The line-out was a little scrappy but they kept the ball. Then Higgins was on it and charging, but she lost it in contact. One step forward, one step back. That is their third knock-on after just 12 minutes. Have to be more clinical against England.

10 min: Kildunne launches a counter and eats up ground down the right wing. She finds Breach who continues the move. Ireland swarm and pinch the ball with Wafer fighting back. Clifford goes for the steal but loses her feet so Ireland get the chance to find touch with a penalty. They do, and will have the line-out throw in England’s patch.

TRY! England 7-0 Ireland (Cokayne, 8)

Water is wet, England score off the rolling maul! Just too powerful, to clinical, too good. There is no stopping the England hooker from five out. To the middle of the line, they get into formation and rumble over. Rowland slots the extras from out wide. Good kick.

Updated

7 min: Ireland are off their feet again, this time about seven metres out from theor own line. Feaunati, who has carried well, makes ground near the corner. The pen is kicked out, they set up a maul…

6 min: Good from Jones down the touchline. Solid in contact. Nice from Kildunne to find her with a quick pass and the centre went to the toe to continue the move. Ireland lost their feet so it’s a penalyty for England. They turn down the gettable points and find touch to set up an attack inside Ireland’s 22.

4 min: Lovely move by Ireland off the top of the line-out. Hogan made good ground as she beat away a tackler. But the continuity was missing and the ball was spilled soon after. Still, positive from the Irish off the set piece.

3 min: Kildunne is smoked in midfield, what a hit! But not before she fires away a cross-field kick. But that’s too long, straight out over halfway so Ireland get the line-out. King wins it and they’re moving down the line.

2 min: England fling the ball down the line but they spill it and Ireland hack ahead. England come back with Cokayne on the ball. Kildunne joins the line and makes ground, up to Irelandf’s 22. Rowland straightens and pops a short pass for a forward. Aitchison hoofs a cross-kick but it’s too deep and easily marked in the backfield.

Updated

1 min: Ireland knock on straioght from the kick-off so England will get a scrum feed inside the 22 towards the right touch.

And we’re off!

Twickenham is bathed in glorious sunshine. This should be good!

Cliodhna Moloney-MacDonald leads out the players on her own as she makes her 50th appearance for Ireland.

The rest of the cast follows shortly after before the anthems get underway.

England coach, John Mitchell, speaks to the BBC:

New team, new start and new learning. The freshness of the new girls has brought an enormous amount of energy.

I think our preparation has served us well. I think we are unfinished, we want to play a style of rugby that will bring us to the top again.

[On Emily Scarratt in her new role as a coach] She has been fantastic. The way she created an unstructured element to a structured element is amazing. She has insane knowledge of the game.

Ireland’s last win over England came in 2015.

It was a stunning victory in a classic game.

The past really is a foreign country.

Updated

Oval Insights have crunched the numbers and they have England winning by 42 points.

According to the supercomputer, Ireland have a 3% chance of victory.

I reckon that’s generous.

Ireland’s Aoife Dalton tells the BBC that her team is not here to merely make up the numbers:

It was amazing arriving here today. We are deffo here to not play for the occasion, we are here to play for ourselves. We won’t let any outside factors come in and affect our game today.

This is such a brilliant story.

Ireland team

It’s a return of the King, Erin King, to be exact, as the Irish skipper rejoins the group after missing out on last year’s World Cup with a knee injury.

Along with Aoife Wafer and Brittany Hogan, Ireland have a back row that can compete. It’s just a question if they can get enough front-foot ball.

If they can, and if they can get the ball moving down the line, Vicky Elmes Kinlan’s pace out wide could be a handful. On the other wing, the experienced Béibhinn Parsons offers solidity.

There’s also a lovely match-up as Cliodhna Maloney-Macdonald at hooker meets her club teammate and wife, Claudia, who starts on the wing for England.

When they leave the bench, Eilís Cahill and Katie Whelan will make their Test debuts.

Ireland: Flood; Parson, Dalton, Higgins, Elmes Kinland; O’Brien, Lane; Perry, Maloney-Macdonald, Djougang, Wall, Tuite, Hogan, King, Wafer.

Replacements: Jones, O’Dowd, Cahill, Campbell, Moore, Whelan, McGillivray, McGann.

England team

There are nine – nine! – World Cup winners absent this afternoon.

Prop Hannah Botterman’s ankle means she a host of teammates, including skipper Zoe Stratford, Lark Atkin-Davies and Rosie Galligan who are all pregnant and focussing on more important matters than the fate of a rugby ball.

Still, it’s a team stacked with talent. Ellie Kildunne starts at fullback with Megan Jones assuming captaincy duties from 13. Holly Aitchsion wins the battle for the 10 jersey while Sadia Kabeya forms the focal point of a world class back row.

England: Kildunne; Breach, Jones, Rowland, Maloney-Macdonald; Aitchison, Packer; Clifford, Cockayne, Bern, Talling, Ives Campion, Feaunati, Kabeya, Matthews.

Replacements: Powell, Carson, Muir, Lutui, Burton, Hunt, Harrison, Sing.

Preamble

Hello and welcome to the start of our coverage of the 2026 Women’s Six Nations.

England are revved up and ready to stretch their record unbeaten run of 33 matches and I wouldn’t bet against them making it 38 by the time the tournament ends.

They are, for my money, the most dominant sports team on the planet. Surely they are among the most dominant sports teams of all time. A professional league, investors who put their money where they mouths are, and a public who fully get behind them. It’s no wonder they are lightyears ahead of the competition.

Ireland will be eager to play their part. They came within a score of beating France in the World Cup quarterfinals last year. They have one of the best players on the planet, Aoife Wafer, rampaging in the loose, and of course there will be no shortage of motivation.

But they’re up against the world champions on their own patch. Anything other than a romping victory for the Red Roses would constitute a major upset.

Kick-off at Twickenham at 2:25 pm.

Teams and other updates to come.