England v Ireland LIVE: Result and reaction from Six Nations as Marcus Smith denies Irish grand slam with last-gasp drop goal

Danny Care was presented with his national academy report in anticipation of his 100th cap and the England scrum half jokes that the assessment made two decades ago is still accurate now.

Care will become the sixth England men’s Test centurion if he steps off the bench this afternoon with his family, including his wife Jodie and three children, all present at Twickenham.

When the squad gathered on Thursday to celebrate the occasion, they were read out the 37-year-old’s hand-written under-18 report that had been obtained by attack coach Richard Wigglesworth.

“Wiggy got handed it at our training camp in York last week and was asked to give it to me. He said ‘there’s no way I’m giving it to him yet. I’m going to have some fun first’,” Care said.

“He did a little bit of a montage of good and bad bits from my career. The report said ‘he lacks a bit of physicality, box-kicking is slightly inconsistent’. I’d say 18 years later it’s still the same!

“The cool line at the end of it was ‘future England player’. There was also ‘he tries a bit too much and makes a few mistakes, but he’ll have a crack’. Wigglesworth had a bit of fun with that and it’s come a full circle. I’m still quite similar, I’d say.”

100 not out

If and when Danny Care steps off the bench at Twickenham, he will become the sixth England men’s player to reach the 100 cap milestone. The enduringly brilliant Harlequins scrum-half made his professional debut in 2003 and even at 37-years-old he is still playing the electrifying rugby that thrills audiences.

One of the game’s most popular characters has done it the hard way too, long playing second fiddle to Ben Youngs and then having to resurrect his career, having been cast into Test exile after the 2018 ‘Black Hole Game’ against Japan.

Not bad for a self-confessed nutritionist’s nightmare who credits a regimen of cookies and saunas for his longevity.

Clash of the titans

It will be a duel to savour when young second row enforcers George Martin and Joe McCarthy go toe to toe. There is a thuggish-ness to both forwards as they look to inflict maximum damage on each side of the ball.

And as they share similar stats across the board – both are 22-years-old, same height, comparable weights and experience – there is a real sense that this could be the first of many battles between the type of menacing tight five forward every team needs.

Martin’s coming of age performance came against South Africa in the World Cup semi-finals, McCarthy’s against France in round one of this Six Nations. Neither will want to give an inch, the type of menacing tight five forward every team needs.

Manny mania

Immanuel Feyi-Waboso’s inclusion on the right wing at the expense of Elliot Daly should thrill England fans even if the 21-year-old Exeter finisher has played only a handful of professional matches.

Injecting genuine X-factor into the team, Feyi-Waboso has been told to go hunting for the ball in the hope his pace, strength and running lines can make a difference against the champions.

But a cautionary tale can be seen in the similar trajectory of Henry Arundell, who exploded on to the scene amid a flurry of stunning tries but now plays in France and is unavailable as a result. It is a failure of England’s that they were unable to find him an ingoing role and they must ensure Feyi-Waboso’s vast talent is fully realised.

Against all odds

The odds are startling – England are rated 4-1 to win with Ireland 1/5 to continue their grand slam march. It is hard to recall a more lopsided evaluation for a match at Twickenham and Borthwick’s men undoubtedly face a gargantuan task to rebound from their 30-21 mauling by Scotland, a game in which they made 25 handling errors and gifted 22 turnovers, and deny Ireland a fifth successive victory in the fixture.

Murrayfield was the pivotal encounter for England, who must now topple the favourites or France in Lyon to avoid finishing the Six Nations with just two wins for a fourth successive year, a run that would evoke memories of the dark days of the early 1970s and mid 1980s.

The real world champions?

“Let’s be clear on Ireland – right now we can all agree they are the best team in the world,” were the words Steve Borthwick used when assessing England’s round four opponents, adding his voice to a theme that has developed throughout the tournament.

Former Wales captain Sam Warburton holds a similar view that has been greeted with indignation in South Africa given the Springboks retained the World Cup last autumn.

It will take the rivals’ two-Test series in July to settle the debate, but for now Andy Farrell’s green machine appear invulnerable as they aim to become the first side to win back-to-back Grand Slams in the Six Nations era.

Rory Best remembers the speech well. It was 2016, and Andy Farrell had just arrived in Ireland to oversee the defence, regathering himself after a bruising World Cup with England. A disaster of a tournament on home soil had seen Stuart Lancaster and his staff sacked – Farrell, still considered a rising star of the coaching ranks, had a reputation to rebuild.

Joe Schmidt gave him an opportunity; in the eight years since, Farrell has most certainly taken it, first as an assistant, and then as the top man himself.

“Andy came in and said, ‘How can we get better? How can I get more from the players both on and off the pitch?’,” recalls Best, Ireland captain at the time of Farrell’s arrival. “From the first meeting he ever stood up in front of us as an Ireland team back in 2016, he really inspired us because he has presence but also a real awareness of what each individual needs.

“A lot of time you sit in team meetings as a player and you are thinking, ‘What do I need to say that they will be happy with?’. He has challenged the squad to move beyond that and say what they think. And now the people in that room know what everyone is actually thinking instead of a facade you are putting on. He has done an unbelievable job.”

Harry Latham-Coyle interviews Rory Best about what makes this current Ireland side so special:

Perhaps the only minor question left to answer for Ireland comes at fly half. This is not to diminish what Jack Crowley has done by stepping into Johnny Sexton’s shoes. There were genuine concerns ahead of the tournament that Sexton was irreplaceable in the Irish system and as their emotional leader but Crowley has directed the attack to impeccable results

But there’s a nagging feeling that Crowley has not been truly tested yet and that as long as Ireland’s attack is humming along in cruise control, he hasn’t proven he can overcome adversity at Test level. This, of course, is not his fault – after all, it’s unfair to hold someone responsible for playing in a team that’s too good – but if England are to spring an almighty Twickenham surprise, then the route to victory probably runs through disrupting Crowley.

Read Luke Baker’s full preview as we may be about to move a step closer to the answer of whether Crowley really is Sexton’s heir apparent:

It has fast become rugby’s great puzzle – how do you stop Andy Farrell’s Ireland? The green giants of the Six Nations march towards history and a second consecutive grand slam with inexorable intent, carrying the confidence and certainty befitting one of the best teams of the modern era. In the last two years, their record reads played 25, won 23, lost two; the last time Ireland lost to someone other than New Zealand or France, Joe Biden had been in office for a fortnight.

How do you beat them? The answer at the World Cup was to produce something resembling rugby perfection. In the All Blacks’ quarter-final win in Paris, New Zealand turned the ball over thrice in 80 minutes; they did not allow Ireland a single scrum feed. Ireland were rattled, ruffled and roughed up, but were the girth of Jordie Barrett’s thigh away from victory; New Zealand still required a remarkable 37-phase defensive stand to cling on at the end.

Good luck England.

Read Harry Latham-Coyle’s full preview of this afternoon’s clash:

Jamie George has warned history-chasing Ireland that his England team are ready to “defend our home” today.

Andy Farrell’s men are hunting a fifth successive victory in the fixture that would place them on the brink of completing back-to-back grand slams – an achievement last managed by France in 1997 and 1998.

England, meanwhile, have been licking their wounds after a comprehensive defeat by Scotland at Murrayfield that leaves them facing another championship of underachievement.

Victory over Ireland would be the highlight of Steve Borthwick’s 20 matches in charge and while the visitors are overwhelming favourites to triumph, George believes the Twickenham factor will level the playing field.

“We believe that we’re going to win. We don’t want anyone, any opposition, to come to Twickenham and have an easy ride,” England’s captain said. “We have respect for them. I can’t emphasise enough how much respect we have for Andy Farrell and Peter O’Mahony’s team. They’ve got brilliant players across the board.

“But this is England. This is Twickenham. This is home. And we’re going to defend our home, like every Englishman would. Ireland have got to come and get the result here. And we’re a team that’s hurting off the back of the Scotland result, hugely motivated and hugely excited about the potential of where we can go. It’s about time we put that out in the field.”