'It's a tremendous honour' to be captainpublished at 19:08 GMT 1 February 2025
19:08 GMT 1 February 2025
FT: Ireland 27-22 England
England Rugby
England's captain, Maro Itoje speaking to ITV on his first game as captain: "It's a tremendous honour. I grew up watching England and wanting to
play for England.
"But it is not about me, it's about the team and hopefully next
week we will be better.
"This is a tight competition and every point
matters, I am proud of this team and what they have achieved."
'We lost territory and struggled to get out'published at 19:02 GMT 1 February 2025
19:02 GMT 1 February 2025
FT: Ireland 27-22 England
England Rugby
England's captain, Maro Itoje speaking to ITV: "I thought the first half was fantastic and we did everything we wanted to do. The second half we lost the territory a little bit and we struggled to get out.
"We just need to control the territory better and be more consistent.
"It's hard to tell what the exact reason [for the loss] is at this point, so soon after after the game. We weren't able to exit our half as quickly as we would have liked."
'That was a wake-up call for England'published at 18:56 GMT 1 February 2025
18:56 GMT 1 February 2025
FT: Ireland 27-22 England
Matt Dawson 2003 World Cup winner on BBC Radio 5 Live
That was a hard-fought contest, a very physical, very fast game. That was top-level rugby. Ireland showed with their experience, how to utilise their experience.
That was a bit of a wake-up call for England today.
'It is an unbelievable team and environment'published at 18:53 GMT 1 February 2025
18:53 GMT 1 February 2025
FT: Ireland 27-22 England
Ireland Rugby
Player of the match Jamison Gibson-Park, speaking to ITV: "It was a little patchy to begin with but we produced some nice stuff in the end. A lot of credit to England.
"We improved our accuracy and things stuck better in the second half.
"I am super lucky to be part of this squad and I am just enjoying my footie. It is an unbelievable team and environment."
Reaction and analysis coming soonpublished at 18:48 GMT 1 February 2025
18:48 GMT 1 February 2025
FT: Ireland 27-22 England
BBC Sport
Stay tuned for reaction from Dublin.
We'll be streaming both Ireland and England's press conferences in this page so you'll be able to hear it straight from those in the middle of it all.
The Rugby Union Weekly podcast will also be available later on BBC Sounds for further analysis from Matt Dawson and Tommy Bowe and reaction from the coaches and players.
England flattered by the scorelinepublished at 18:47 GMT 1 February 2025
18:47 GMT 1 February 2025
Ireland 27-22 England
Mike Henson BBC Sport at Aviva Stadium
The bookies were bang on. They had Ireland by five in the pre-match markets. That losing margin flatters England however.
Tommy Freeman's last-play try came with the outcome already decided.
The inquest will focus on a period in the middle of the match in which the vistors leaked 22 unanswered points and committed a rash of individual errors.
HansenHenshaw 3', substituted for Henshaw at 3 minutesHansen 16', substituted for Hansen at 16 minutes
Number
13
13, Ringrose
Ringrose
Number
12
12, Aki
AkiHenshaw 57', substituted for Henshaw at 57 minutes
Number
11
11, Lowe
Lowe
Number
10
10, S Prendergast
S PrendergastCrowley 58', substituted for Crowley at 58 minutes
Number
9
9, Gibson-Park
Gibson-ParkMurray 74', substituted for Murray at 74 minutes
Number
1
1, Porter
PorterHealy 73', substituted for Healy at 73 minutes
Number
2
2, Kelleher
KelleherSheehan 49', substituted for Sheehan at 49 minutes
Number
3
3, Bealham
BealhamClarkson 58', substituted for Clarkson at 58 minutes
Number
4
4, Ryan
RyanHenderson 61', substituted for Henderson at 61 minutes
Number
5
5, Beirne
Beirne
Number
6
6, Baird
BairdConan 49', substituted for Conan at 49 minutes
Number
7
7, van der Flier
van der Flier
Number
8
8, Doris
Doris
Substitutes
home team, Ireland
Number
16
16, Sheehan
Sheehan
Number
17
17, Healy
Healy
Number
18
18, Clarkson
Clarkson
Number
19
19, Henderson
Henderson
Number
20
20, Conan
Conan
Number
21
21, Murray
Murray
Number
22
22, Crowley
Crowley
Number
23
23, Henshaw
Henshaw
away team, England
Starting lineup
Number
15
15, Steward
StewardF Smith 64', substituted for F Smith at 64 minutes
Number
14
14, Freeman
Freeman
Number
13
13, Lawrence
Lawrence
Number
12
12, Slade
Slade
Number
11
11, Murley
Murley
Number
10
10, M Smith
M Smith24', Yellow card at 24 minutes
Number
9
9, Mitchell
MitchellRandall 64', substituted for Randall at 64 minutes
Number
1
1, Genge
GengeBaxter 70', substituted for Baxter at 70 minutes
Number
2
2, Cowan-Dickie
Cowan-DickieDan 55', substituted for Dan at 55 minutes
Number
3
3, Stuart
StuartHeyes 37', substituted for Heyes at 37 minutesStuart 40', substituted for Stuart at 40 minutesHeyes 49', substituted for Heyes at 49 minutesStuart 59', substituted for Stuart at 59 minutesHeyes 70', substituted for Heyes at 70 minutes
Number
4
4, Itoje
Itoje
Number
5
5, Martin
MartinChessum 59', substituted for Chessum at 59 minutes
Number
6
6, T Curry
T Curry
Number
7
7, B Curry
B CurryCunningham-South 59', substituted for Cunningham-South at 59 minutes
Number
8
8, Earl
EarlWillis 55', substituted for Willis at 55 minutes
HansenHenshaw 3', substituted for Henshaw at 3 minutesHansen 16', substituted for Hansen at 16 minutes
Number
13
13, Ringrose
Ringrose
Number
12
12, Aki
AkiHenshaw 57', substituted for Henshaw at 57 minutes
Number
11
11, Lowe
Lowe
Number
10
10, S Prendergast
S PrendergastCrowley 58', substituted for Crowley at 58 minutes
Number
9
9, Gibson-Park
Gibson-ParkMurray 74', substituted for Murray at 74 minutes
Number
1
1, Porter
PorterHealy 73', substituted for Healy at 73 minutes
Number
2
2, Kelleher
KelleherSheehan 49', substituted for Sheehan at 49 minutes
Number
3
3, Bealham
BealhamClarkson 58', substituted for Clarkson at 58 minutes
Number
4
4, Ryan
RyanHenderson 61', substituted for Henderson at 61 minutes
Number
5
5, Beirne
Beirne
Number
6
6, Baird
BairdConan 49', substituted for Conan at 49 minutes
Number
7
7, van der Flier
van der Flier
Number
8
8, Doris
Doris
Substitutes
Number
16
16, Sheehan
Sheehan
Number
17
17, Healy
Healy
Number
18
18, Clarkson
Clarkson
Number
19
19, Henderson
Henderson
Number
20
20, Conan
Conan
Number
21
21, Murray
Murray
Number
22
22, Crowley
Crowley
Number
23
23, Henshaw
Henshaw
away team, England
Starting lineup
Number
15
15, Steward
StewardF Smith 64', substituted for F Smith at 64 minutes
Number
14
14, Freeman
Freeman
Number
13
13, Lawrence
Lawrence
Number
12
12, Slade
Slade
Number
11
11, Murley
Murley
Number
10
10, M Smith
M Smith24', Yellow card at 24 minutes
Number
9
9, Mitchell
MitchellRandall 64', substituted for Randall at 64 minutes
Number
1
1, Genge
GengeBaxter 70', substituted for Baxter at 70 minutes
Number
2
2, Cowan-Dickie
Cowan-DickieDan 55', substituted for Dan at 55 minutes
Number
3
3, Stuart
StuartHeyes 37', substituted for Heyes at 37 minutesStuart 40', substituted for Stuart at 40 minutesHeyes 49', substituted for Heyes at 49 minutesStuart 59', substituted for Stuart at 59 minutesHeyes 70', substituted for Heyes at 70 minutes
Number
4
4, Itoje
Itoje
Number
5
5, Martin
MartinChessum 59', substituted for Chessum at 59 minutes
Number
6
6, T Curry
T Curry
Number
7
7, B Curry
B CurryCunningham-South 59', substituted for Cunningham-South at 59 minutes
Number
8
8, Earl
EarlWillis 55', substituted for Willis at 55 minutes