England and Ireland have played rugby union internationals against each other since 1875, with England winning the first match at The Oval, London by two goals to nil (A points scoring system was not used in rugby at the time). The two teams have played a total of 144 Test matches with England winning 81 of them, Ireland 55 and 8 resulting in a draw. However, since rugby union went professional in 1995, the head-to-head is much closer. Since then the teams have met 36 times with England winning 19 test matches to Ireland's 17.
Apart from their annual match during the Six Nations Championship, the teams have also met on six other occasions, with England winning five. The sides have played four warm-up matches prior to the 2011, 2015, 2019, 2023 World Cups. They played a one-off match in April 1988 to celebrate the millennium of the city of Dublin in which the winners of the 1988 match, England, were awarded the Millennium Trophy. This then became the trophy for the annual match between the teams in the Six Nations Championship. The sides also faced off in the inaugural Autumn Nations Cup which took place in November 2020.
Ireland achieved a record away winning margin over England when they beat them 21–42 on 21 February 2026.
Millennium Trophy
The Millennium Trophy is a rugby union award contested annually by England and Ireland as part of the Six Nations Championship. It was initiated in 1988 as part of Dublin's millennial celebrations. The trophy has the shape of a horned Viking helmet. As of 2026, England have won it 21 times and Ireland 18 times. The Millennium Trophy is currently held by Ireland, who beat England 21–42 at Twickenham Stadium.
Summary Overall Details Played Won byEngland Won byIreland Drawn England points Ireland points In England 72 48 20 4 1,073 647 In Ireland 72 33 35 4 733 736 Overall 144 81 55 8 1,806 1,383
Records Note: Date shown in brackets indicates when the record was last set. RecordEnglandIrelandLongest winning streak8 (10 February 1912 – 9 February 1924)5 (12 February 1972 – 6 March 1976)Largest points forHome57 (24 August 2019)43 (24 February 2007)Away46 (15 February 1997)42 (21 February 2026)Largest winning marginHome42 (24 August 2019)30 (24 February 2007)Away40 (15 February 1997)21 (21 February 2026)
Attendance Up to date as of 22 February 2026 Total attendance*2,971,995Average attendance*45,723Highest attendance82,062 England 15–24 Ireland 17 Mar 2018*Excludes 77 matches in which no attendance was reported and two matches in which Covid restricted attendance
Results