Betdistrict.com
While England has already won the Six Nations before this last round, they will try to achieve a second consecutive Grand Slam with a win in Ireland. It would also be a record breaking 19th consecutive victory, the most for any Tier 1 side ever. Ireland will be desperate to prevent England from making history in Dublin, while also fighting to secure the 2nd place – so there is everything to play for in this blockbuster meeting. Not to mention St Patrick’s day was on Friday.
Ireland was expected to have a shot at the title coming into this game, but their losses in Scotland and Wales denied them the opportunity. Rated as arguably the 3rd best team in world rugby before this tournament, Ireland paid the price for playing poorly on the road and now have only second place to fight for, despite convincing wins over France and Italy. Last time out, Ireland was surprisingly outplayed by Wales in Cardiff, losing 9-22.
England was shaky to start the tournament, posting unconvincing wins against France, Wales and Italy. They were lucky not to lose one of those, especially in Wales. However, the English showed their true colors last week in a monumental display against Scotland, beating their rivals by 40 points to clinch the Six Nations title. Scotland did have excuses, as they were without a number of key players and had a yellow card in the first minute, but England played brilliant rugby and showed why their are considered close to the level of New Zealand right now.
Bet on Ireland vs. England and claim your 100% (100 Eur) freebet at Ohmbet now!Team news & lineups:
Murray is out for Ireland and even though Marmion has been very good in his role in Wales, it will still be a big loss. Bowe and Kearney are also out and Best is a doubt. England is healthy and will also get back Billy Vunipola in the starting lineup.
Ireland: 15 Jared Payne, 14 Keith Earls, 13 Garry Ringrose, 12 Robbie Henshaw, 11 Simon Zebo, 10 Johnny Sexton, 9 Kieran Marmion, 8 Jamie Heaslip, 7 Sean O’Brien, 6 CJ Stander, 5 Iain Henderson, 4 Donnacha Ryan, 3 Tadgh Furlong, 2 Rory Best (c), 1 Jack McGrath
England: 15 Mike Brown, 14 Anthony Watson, 13 Jonathan Joseph, 12 Owen Farrell, 11 Elliot Daly, 10 George Ford, 9 Ben Youngs, 8 Billy Vunipola, 7 James Haskell, 6 Maro Itoje, 5 Courtney Lawes, 4 Joe Launchbury, 3 Dan Cole, 2 Dylan Hartley (c), 1 Joe Marler
England won 6 of the last 7 H2H meetings, but the previous meeting in Dublin was won 19-9 by Ireland back in 2015.
England is the better team here and they were absolutely flawless last week against Scotland. If they are able to repeat such a performance, few teams can stand in their way, but even so it will not be an easy task to win in Dublin.
Ireland remains a Top 4 side in the World despite their hiccups against Wales and Scotland. At home the Irish will be very, very dangerous and England did not look good in their only previous away game in this tournament, when only good fortune saved them against Wales.
The English will have to deal with some intense pressure in this game, as history is on the line. After so many grueling battles and wins, it won`t be easy to produce the kind of performance they need to achieve history, on the road, in Dublin.
Ireland stopped New Zealand’s record breaking run of consecutive wins at 18 back in November and will be desperate to do the same against England. A rather disappointing tournament could turn into absolute disaster for Ireland if England wins a Grand Slam and breaks the consecutive wins record in Dublin, so expect a crazy atmosphere in the stands and full determination from the Irish players.
A close game is expected here between two fine teams and it`s hard to see anybody getting a foothold in such an important clash. Rain and humidity are expected before and during game time in Dublin, so that should encourage a more cagey, penalty driven game, making it hard for England to pull away and win by a sensible margin.
Home court advantage has been crucial in the 2017 Six Nations and you would expect Ireland would have even more of a home edge than usual in this game, considering the stakes and the anticipation.
The Irish do miss a couple of players and that could hurt them a little bit, but there are not many absences and they have a lot of depth. They should be fine in this department.
England’s odds to win were as high as 2.10 a week ago and I was sure they will drop big time. The current price of 1.50 on England is at an all time low and the value is all over Ireland right now.
My tip is Ireland to cover the +4,5 point handicap and I would not be surprised at all if they find a way to win this game. Prediction: Ireland – England 24 – 23.
Pick: Ireland +4,5
Odds: 1.97 @ 1xBet
Stake: 8
Possible profit: 7.76
Event date: 18 March
