Ireland vs England Prediction & Betting Tips - Test Matchs

Prediction published on 17/08/2023, 12:00  by Devesh Jaganath | Modified on 19/08/2023 at 04:30 in Rugby Predictions

Ireland will welcome England to the Aviva Stadium for a World Cup warm-up match this Saturday. The Irish are the number one ranked team in the world, while England are currently ranked sixth. Since losing in the 2022 Six Nations to France, Ireland have been a force to be reckoned with. That was the last loss they suffered, meaning they are currently on a 12-match winning streak dating back to February 2022. In that time, they have beaten the likes of the world champions South Africa 19-16 and Australia 13 -10. At this year’s Six Nations, Ireland looked a class above their opponents and ended the tournament with the title and unbeaten in their five matches. However, their most impressive achievement came in the second match of that competition when they beat Les Bleues 32-19 at this venue. That result will undoubtedly give them the psychological edge going into the World Cup in France later this year. Ireland beat England 29-16 on the final weekend of the Six Nations and eased past Italy 33-17 earlier this month. They are the current overwhelming favourite to win this match and are the third-most-fancied to win the 2023 Rugby World Cup, according to the latest odds. 

Meanwhile, England come into this match following a double-header against Wales that delivered mixed performances. Steve Brothwick’s side put on a dismal performance at the Millenium Stadium two weeks ago, as they were overpowered by a dominant Wales front line and slumped to a 20-9 defeat. Last week, though, England were much better in the first half, with returning skipper Owen Farrell pulling the strings at flyhalf. However, after Farrell was shown red in the second half, Wales came flying back into the contest and were leading the match until the 76th minute when George Ford stuck away a crucial penalty to claim a narrow 19-17 victory. However, while they did get over the line in the match with a wholehearted performance, it was by no means convincing. Those games also followed a poor Six Nations campaign for England, where they were forced into fourth place, with Scotland moving up a spot from last season. They now face a sizeable step up in class against Ireland, who have won the last three encounters between these sides. England are currently 7/1 outsiders to win this match.