Ireland vs England as it happened: Grand Slam goes begging again as Iain Henderson try seals Irish victory
Follow the latest from the final day of the Six Nations
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Your support makes all the difference.England suffered a repeat of their 2011 Grand Slam nightmare as Ireland secured a 13-9 victory to deny them a second consecutive clean sweep, ending their 18-match unbeaten streak and dealing Eddie Jones his first defeat as head coach. Re-live the action here.
- Ireland beat England 13-9 to deny the Grand Slam
- Iain Henderson scores the only try midway through the first half
- Jonathan Sexton scores Ireland's other eight points
- Owen Farrell replies with three penalties but England outplayed
- Wales suffer 102nd-minute heartbreak in 20-18 defeat by France
- Scotland beat Italy 29-0 to confirm Italians as Wooden Spoon recipients
Follow the live action below...
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Preview...
What time does it start?
Ireland vs England kicks off at 17:00 at the Aviva Stadium.
Where can I watch it?
The match will be shown live in ITV from 16:00. You can also follow it with The Independent’s live blog here.
Teams...
Ireland: Jared Payne; Keith Earls, Garry Ringrose, Robbie Henshaw, Simon Zebo; Jonathan Sexton, Kieran Marmion; Jack McGrath, Rory Best, Tadhg Furlong, Donnacha Ryan, Iain Henderson, CJ Stander, Sean O'Brien, Jamie Heaslip.
Replacements: Niall Scannell, Cian Healy, John Ryan, Devin Toner, Peter O'Mahony, Luke McGrath, Paddy Jackson, Andrew Conway.
England: Mike Brown; Anthony Watson, Jonathan Joseph, Owen Farrell, Elliot Daly; George Ford, Ben Youngs; Joe Marler, Dylan Hartley, Dan Cole, Joe Launchbury, Courtney Lawes, Maro Itoje, James Haskell, Billy Vunipola.
Replacements: Jamie George, Mako Vunipola, Kyle Sinckler, Tom Wood, Nathan Hughes, Danny Care, Ben Te'o, Jack Nowell.
Good afternoon and welcome to The Independent's live coverage of the final Six Nations match of the year as England go after the Grand Slam in their attempt to beat Ireland at Dublin's Aviva Stadium.
Scotland have already recorded an impressive 29-0 victory earlier today that puts them in provisional second place in the table, though France and Ireland are currently battling it out in Paris with the Welsh looking to move back in front of the Scots.
Ireland will need to beat England to ensure they finish second in the table, but with the championship already wrapped up, England are looking to complete a second consecutive clean sweep under Eddie Jones, becoming the first team to do so in the Six Nations era, and also record a world record 19th victory in a row that would eclipse the All Blacks' existing record.
Follow all the latest here with little more than an hour until kick-off.
So let's take a look at what's been said in the build-up. For England, it's been a case of avenging the 2011 loss here, where the Grand Slam slipped through their grasp. The skipper today, Dylan Hartley, has lived with the memory, one that he described as "dirty, and he's out tonight to put the wrongs right.
But not if his opposite number has anything to do with it. Rory Best, the Irish hooker and captain, rejected Eddie Jones's claim that Ireland have "nothing to fear", and instead told his side that they have the expectation of a nation counting on them, with the added pressure of it being St Patrick's Day weekend here in Dublin.
One person who will have a lot of attention on his young shoulders will be the scrum-half, Kieran Marmion, who replaces the injured Conor Murray. however, he's been given an early injection of confidence ahead of the game.
The England camp have also been talking about the potential to achieve greatness, should they record an unrivalled 19th victory in a row. Ben Youngs spoke this weeke about what that would mean for the side, given they are less than two years into the 2019 World Cup cycle.
The main threat for England will, of course, be this man. Jonathan Sexton is the motor behind Ireland's attack, and when he's on form, he's often unbeatable as he showed against the All Blacks last October. He's now called on his teammates to step up their game, and start producing those kind of displays week-in, week-out.
So with all the preview out of the way, here's a reminder of how the two teams shape up today:
Ireland: Jared Payne; Keith Earls, Garry Ringrose, Robbie Henshaw, Simon Zebo; Jonathan Sexton, Kieran Marmion; Jack McGrath, Rory Best, Tadhg Furlong, Donnacha Ryan, Iain Henderson, CJ Stander, Sean O'Brien, Jamie Heaslip.
Replacements: Niall Scannell, Cian Healy, John Ryan, Devin Toner, Peter O'Mahony, Luke McGrath, Paddy Jackson, Andrew Conway.
England: Mike Brown; Anthony Watson, Jonathan Joseph, Owen Farrell, Elliot Daly; George Ford, Ben Youngs; Joe Marler, Dylan Hartley, Dan Cole, Joe Launchbury, Courtney Lawes, Maro Itoje, James Haskell, Billy Vunipola.
Replacements: Jamie George, Mako Vunipola, Kyle Sinckler, Tom Wood, Nathan Hughes, Danny Care, Ben Te'o, Jack Nowell.
Here come two teams! A huge bang goes off as the fireworks are let loose, blimey that was loud! The Aviva is looking incredibly empty though, because the fans are still watching France vs Wales in the bar... time for the Presidential welcome and the anthems.
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