England v Ireland Preview

The match betting is close when England host Ireland at Twickenham in the final match of the 2012 Six Nations on Saturday 17th March 2012. The match brings the curtain down on this year's championships and Ireland will be looking to inflict a fourth successive defeat on England in the Six Nations. England have lost each of the last three meetings with the Irish, including a stunning 24-8 defeat at the Aviva Stadium last season, where Ireland managed to deny England a Grand Slam victory with a dominant display on home soil.

England can still win the Six Nations going into the final weekend but they will need Wales to suffer a heavy defeat to France, while recording a big winning margin of their own against the Irish.

Ireland| England

England v Ireland 6 Nations Odds

Get the odds on both teams to win the 2012 Six Nations.

England v Ireland Teams

England: Ben Foden, Chris Ashton, Manu Tuilagi, Brad Barritt, David Strettle, Owen Farrell, Lee Dickson, Alex Corbisiero, Dylan Hartley, Dan Cole, Mouritz Botha, Geoff Parling, Tom Croft, Christ Robshaw (captain), Ben Morgan.

Replacements: Lee Mears, Matt Stevens, Tom Palmer, Phil Dowson, Ben Youngs, Charlie Hodgson, Mike Brown.

Ireland: Rob Kearney, Tommy Bowe. Keith Earls, Gordon D'Arcy, Andrew Trimble, Jonathan Sexton, Eoin Reddan, Jamie Heaslip, Sean O'Brien, Stephen Ferris, Donnacha Ryan, Donncha O'Callaghan, Mike Ross, Rory Best (captain), Cian Healy.

Replacements: Sean Cronin, Tom Court, Mike McCarthy, Peter O'Mahony, Tomas O'Leary, Ronan O'Gara, Fergus McFadden.

Previous Meetings

Last Year: England 30 - 9 Ireland - Saturday 17th March 2012, Twickenham

England recorded only their second win in nine attempts against Ireland with a ruthless display at Twickenham. The victory ensured England of second spot in the final Six Nations table and left Ireland in third place.

England got off to a perfect start in the match through a Ben Youngs try, which was converted by Owen Farrell, who effectively kicked Ireland out of the contest with six successful penalties. Ireland's Jonny Sexton kicked three penalties of his own but it wasn't enough as England extended a 9-6 half-time advantage to a 30-9 full-time scoreline.

The previous Six Nations results between the teams were as follows:

Year	Home	Score	Away
2011	Ireland	24-8	England
2010	England	16-20	Ireland
2009	Ireland	14-13	England
2008	England	33-10	Ireland
2007	Ireland	43-13	England
2006	England	24-28	Ireland
2005	Ireland	19-13	England
2004	England	13-19	Ireland