Ireland's first match will be a really tough one as they will be playing an arch rival in England. England always boast some great talent, but it will be interesting to see what they can bring to the table when playing the Irish. This first match should give a good sense of what Ireland will be in this tournament.
Beat England In the Air
This match will probably come down to who ever wins the air battle. Luckily, Ireland has some players in the back who can do those well like Hugo Keenan, Mack Hansen, and James Lowe. England does have some pretty good ones of their own such as Cadan Murley and Freddie Steward. England flyhalf Marcus Smith will get creative with his kicks, but Ireland's hands should be the difference here.
Stand Their Ground
Ireland will have their hands full in the scrum as England have some really great forwards like Tom and Ben Curry and Ellis Genge, but Ireland's is formidable as well. While it hurts that Tadhg Furlong won't play, Andrew Porter and Finlay Bealham should help. Defensively, they must make their line as flat as possible because England is prone to finding cracks especially kicking the ball.
Will The Attack Be Brilliantly Boring Or Will There Be New Tricks?
One of the criticisms of Ireland lately has been their attack. It almost seems predictable. Ireland used to be the team that other nations had a hard time game planning against because they always had some hidden play call up their sleeve and catch opposing defenses off guard. This Simon Easterby's team, not Andy Farrell's, so it will be interesting what Easterby does in the attack.
How Will Sam Prendergast Do?
This is going to be a big match for Prendergast as he's been handed the reins to the 10 jersey. While Jack Crowley might get a crack at it later in the match, Prendergast has risen up the ranks to take the starting job. The hope is he doesn't get nervous, but he does play at Aviva Stadium being with Leinster so that might actually make things better.
Set Pieces
The bread and butter of Ireland's attack is their set pieces. They do such a good job that other teams cannot game plan as well against the set pieces. This match might come down to that and Ireland execute every time seemingly. If the Irish can dominate there then England will have a hard time beating them.
Starting XV
1 Andrew Porter
2 Ronan Kelleher
3 Finlay Bealham
4 James Ryan
5 Tadhg Beirne
6 Ryan Baird
7 Josh van der Flier
8 Caelan Doris
9 Jamison Gibson-Park
10 Sam Prendergast
11 James Lowe
12 Bundee Aki
13 Garry Ringrose
14 Mack Hansen
15 Hugo Keenan
Replacements
16 Dan Sheehan
17 Cian Healy
18 Tom Clarkson
19 Iain Henderson
20 Jack Conan
21 Conor Murray
22 Jack Crowley
23 Robbie Henshaw
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