Ireland v England, Rugby World Cup 2023 warm-up: When is it and ...

Preparations for the Rugby World Cup are underway, with England taking part in a training camps at Penny Hill Park in Bagshott.

Steve Borthwick’s men will kick off their campaign against Argentina in Pool D on September 9. But ahead of the opening game, they will step preparations up a gear with four warm-up matches this august, the third of which is against Ireland.

The clash will provide England with their biggest test to date. Last time these two sides met, Andy Farrell’s men lived up to their world-number-one ranking to secure a 26-19 victory in Dublin along with their first Six Nations Grand Slam.

Although Borthwick will have already selected his 33-man squad to travel to France, the fixture will give the England coach a chance to finalise his starting XV.

When is it?

England face Ireland, in the third of their four World Cup warm-up matches, on Aug 19 at 5.30pm (BST).

Where is the match being played?

Ireland will host England at the Aviva Stadium, Dublin. The national stadium has become something of a fortress in recent times, and Andy Farrell’s men have not lost a game at home in over two years. 

What other warm-up matches are England playing?England vs Wales, Principality Stadium, Saturday, Aug 5, 5.30pmEngland vs Wales, Twickenham, Saturday, Aug 12, 5.30pmEngland vs Ireland, Aviva Stadium, Saturday, Aug 19, 5.30pmEngland vs Fiji, Twickenham, Saturday, Aug 26, 3.15pmHow to watch on TV

England’s World Cup warm-up fixtures will be exclusively broadcast in the UK on Amazon Prime.

Amazon Prime Video membership starts at £5.99 a month. Alternatively, the streaming platform offers a free 30-day trial of its full £8.99 a month package, which comes with other benefits including free Amazon delivery. This can be cancelled at any time.

The squadsIreland squad

Ulster hooker Tom Stewart was one of four uncapped players in Ireland’s 42-man training squad to prepare for the Rugby World Cup. Leinster duo Jamie Osborne and Ciaran Frawley were also included, along with Munster’s Calvin Nash.

Ireland captain Johnny Sexton is also in the squad despite not playing since the Six Nations with a groin injury.

Andy Farrell will announce a 33-player World Cup squad following his side’s four warm-up matches against Italy (5 August) and England (19 August) in Dublin, plus Samoa in France (26 August). 

Forwards: Ryan Baird, Finlay Bealham, Tadhg Beirne, Jack Conan, Gavin Coombes, Caelan Doris, Tadhg Furlong, Cian Healy, Iain Henderson, Rob Herring, Ronan Kelleher, Dave Kilcoyne, Joe McCarthy, Peter O’Mahony, Tom O’Toole, Andrew Porter, Cian Prendergast, James Ryan, Dan Sheehan, Tom Stewart, Kieran Treadwell, Josh van der Flier.

Backs: Bundee Aki, Caolin Blade, Ross Byrne, Craig Casey, Jack Crowley, Keith Earls, Ciaran Frawley, Jamison Gibson-Park, Mack Hansen, Robbie Henshaw, Hugo Keenan, James Lowe, Stuart McCloskey, Conor Murray, Calvin Nash, Jimmy O’Brien, Jamie Osborne, Garry Ringrose, Jonathan Sexton, Jacob Stockdale.

England squad

With less than a fortnight to go before the opening World Cup warm-up Test against Wales in Cardiff, Steve Borthwick has several fitness concerns to manage.

The return of Bevan Rodd in place of Val Rapava-Ruskin and the continued absence of Mako Vunipola, who has remained with his club to continue his rehabilitation from a back injury, suggests the Sale Sharks prop is on course to be named as one of three looseheads, along with Ellis Genge and Joe Marler.

Meanwhile, Billy Vunipola has being taking part in modified training and  remains upbeat about his chances of making the World Cup despite undergoing a minor surgical procedure on his knee in june.

“The medical team are positive about my prospects and I understand exactly what needs to be done over the next few weeks,” said Vunipola.

George Ford has also been brought back into the fold to be re-united with Richard Wigglesworth, a former team-mate at Leicester Tigers and now among Borthwick’s coaching lieutenants.

Although the veteran fly-half has not featured in a Test match for over a year, he was called into camp by Borthwick during last season’s Six Nations as soon as his long-term Achilles’ tendon injury allowed. Ford’s experience could see him play a major role at the World Cup.

The 33-man England World Cup squad is set to be announced on August 7 and will be made up of the 44 players Borthwick assembled at Pennyhill Park last month. Those players were as follows: 

Forwards: Jamie Blamire, Dan Cole, Tom Curry, Theo Dan, Alex Dombrandt, Ben Earl, Ellis Genge, Jamie George, Jonny Hill, Maro Itoje, Courtney Lawes, Lewis Ludlam, Joe Marler, George Martin, Tom Pearson, Val Rapava-Ruskin, David Ribbans, Kyle Sinckler, Will Stuart, Jack Willis, Tom Willis

Backs: Henry Arundell, Danny Care, Joe Cokanasiga, Elliot Daly, Owen Farrell, George Ford, Max Malins, Joe Marchant, Jonny May, Cadan Murley, Guy Porter, Henry Slade, Marcus Smith, Freddie Steward, Manu Tuilagi, Jack van Poortvliet, Anthony Watson, Ben Youngs

Rehabilitation: Ollie Chessum, Ollie Lawrence, Jack Walker, Mako Vunipola, Billy Vunipola

Latest news

Ireland will be counting their lucky stars after captain Johnny Sexton managed to avoid a six-match ban for swearing at match officials which would have ruled him out of the opening games of the World Cup.

An independent disciplinary committee in July found his behaviour following the Champions Cup Final was “confrontational and aggressive towards and disrespectful of the match officials, with Sexton “pointing his finger” and “shouting something to the effect: “It’s a disgrace you guys can’t get the big decisions right”, probably accompanied by expletives “most likely the f-word” at referee Jaco Peyper and his assistants, Karl Dickson and Christophe Ridley.

The committee added: “[Sexton’s] conduct was obviously unsportsmanlike and brought the sport of rugby union into disrepute.”

Sexton would have been banned for six matches had it not been for what was described by the committee as “a good deal of genuine mitigation”, citing Sexton’s admission of misconduct, excellent disciplinary record, expression of remorse and character references, as well as his apology to Tony Spreadbury, EPCR’s head of match officials.

Instead, the Irish fly-half received a three game suspension, meaning he will miss the England game along with Ireland’s other two World Cup warm-up matches against Italy and Samoa.

Had there been no mitigation then Sexton would have also missed Ireland’s World Cup pool matches against Romania, Tonga and, crucially, South Africa.

The ruling has been widely criticised, with BBC commentator and former Wales fly-half Jonathan Davies claiming the independent disciplinary committee “bottled” the decision.