Six Nations 2020: England v Ireland betting preview, free tips & where to watch

Free rugby union tips, best bets and analysis for England v Ireland in round three of the 2020 Six Nations championship.

Where to watch

ITV, 3pm Sunday

Best bets

Ireland +7
2pts 21-20 Betfred
Jonny May to score a try
2pts 11-8 Betfair

England v Ireland match preview

There can be little arguing that England captain Owen Farrell’s team deserve to be favourites against Ireland, coached by his father Andy, at Twickenham.

But the visitors, driven on by a desire for a second Grand Slam in three years, look the better handicap bet getting a decent start.

England’s 19-7 victory over New Zealand in the World Cup semi-final and 32-20 Six Nations success in Dublin were their best performances of 2019 and there was also a 57-15 World Cup warm-up win over Ireland in London.

England have won 22 of their 25 home matches with Eddie Jones as head coach and 17 of 19 at home in the Six Nations.

Farrell senior is not new to the Ireland set-up having been Joe Schmidt’s assistant for four years before taking over after the World Cup.

While he has made adjustments to the Irish squad following last year’s disappointments in the Six Nations and Japan, there have not been wholesale changes to their personnel or style of play since their 2018 heroics.

Ireland claimed the Slam that spring with a 24-15 triumph at Twickenham, won a summer series in Australia and downed the All Blacks in the autumn.

Two solid but unspectacular Aviva Stadium successes over Scotland and Wales do not mean that all is serene in green again but Ireland’s forwards are gelling at the set-piece and the breakdown while supreme half-backs Conor Murray and new skipper Johnny Sexton seem back in sync.

Full-back Jordan Larmour has made the most metres in the tournament and is one of four Irishmen in the top six ball-carriers. Number eight CJ Stander tops the turnovers list and lock James Ryan is prominent in the tackle and line-out catch charts.

What Ireland lose in the loose with Iain Henderson missing the match for family reasons, they gain in the return of line-out totem Devin Toner.

By contrast, England appear to be suffering from a World Cup hangover. The first half of their defeat in Paris was a near copy of their loss to South Africa in Yokohama in terms of errors and poor game-management.

And while the filthy weather at Murrayfield a fortnight ago scuppered any attempt at inventive play, it was still a scrappy success.

England are missing two of their biggest ball-carriers in the Vunipola brothers, while Manu Tuilagi may be hindered by the injury that forced him off against France and to be sidelined against Scotland.

Jones continues to experiment with flanker Tom Curry at number eight rather than a proven performer off the base of the scrum and is persisting with the out-of-sorts Ben Youngs at scrum-half. Elliot Daly is yet to convince when played at full-back and while Jonathan Joseph is no stranger to the wing, this will be his first start there.

In 2017, England froze in Dublin when going for back-to-back Grand Slams and they could not match Ireland’s intensity in 2018. Last year, the Red Rose switched off when 31-0 up just before half time against Scotland and needed a last-gasp converted try to draw 38-38.

England are rarely short of spark, though, and nobody epitomises that more than wing Jonny May.

His two tries out of nowhere at the Stade de France took his tally to 21 in the last three years and he has scored in England’s last three matches against Ireland. He is worth backing to bag another.

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