Summary

  • England maintain unbeaten run with five-try victory

  • Captain Sarah Hunter scores first try from fourth-minute scrum

  • Prolific wings Abby Dow and Jess Breach also score in first half

  • Vicky Fleetwood grabs bonus-point fourth try before half-time

  • Sarah McKenna extended England's lead in second half

  • England bidding for back-to-back Grand Slams

  • Match at sold-out Castle Park in Doncaster

  1. Postpublished at 12:42 Greenwich Mean Time 23 February 2020

    England v Ireland (12:45 GMT)

    Becky Grey
    BBC Sport at Castle Park

    Amazing roar as the Red Roses run out. Sold out grounds are fun.

  2. Wing sensations...published at 12:41 Greenwich Mean Time 23 February 2020

    England v Ireland (12:45 GMT)

    WingsImage source, BBC Sport
  3. 'It's going to be a tough battle out there'published at 12:41 Greenwich Mean Time 23 February 2020

    England v Ireland (12:45 GMT)

    Rocky Clark
    Former England World Cup winner on BBC Radio 5 Live Sports Extra

    One exciting fixture. Last year England were victorious with a big 51-7 win, but Ireland are getting stronger every game. They're looking to make sure they can upset England in any way they can.

    It's going to be a tough battle out there, the packs are very strong and it's going to be a hard-fought battle.

    Ireland have been improving every game. England have so much strength in depth, you've got amazing players coming off the bench with lots of experience, so it will be a tough one for Ireland.

  4. Tune inpublished at 12:40 Greenwich Mean Time 23 February 2020

    BBC Radio 5 Live

    Women’s Six Nations: Small balls and thongs? Listen to Rugby Union Weekly here.

    You can also listen to radio coverage of this one by clicking the link on this page.

  5. 'A super opportunity to beat the best'published at 12:38 Greenwich Mean Time 23 February 2020

    England v Ireland (12:45 GMT)

    Ireland's Sene Naoupu: "We’re excited to have the opportunity to play one of the best teams in the world.

    "We’ve been focussing on ourselves and what we can control. We’ve put some quality sessions in this week in preparation for that.

    "It’s been great to be building that momentum. The last couple of games in this campaign have been important for us for that reason.

    "We’re able to get the best out of each other as team-mates. It’s about us being able to harness all that energy and some of the processes we’ve been working on against the best teams in the world and this weekend is a super opportunity for us to do that."

  6. 'Our goal is to sell out Twickenham'published at 12:38 Greenwich Mean Time 23 February 2020

    England v Ireland (12:45 GMT)

    England have sold out Doncaster's Castle Park for the first time for Sunday's Women's Six Nations game against Ireland, but Red Roses back Zoe Harrison says the side "want more".

    The record attendance for an England Women ticketed home game outside a World Cup is 10,545 - but Castle Park's capacity is barely half that at 5,007.

    Harrison, 21, hopes bigger venues are on the horizon for the team.

    "Our goal is to sell out Twickenham," she told BBC Sport.

    "It's massive that we are selling out stadiums now. We're so happy but we want more. The game is growing so we want to sell out bigger stadiums and push it further.

    "I would like to explore some of the [men's] Premiership teams' stadiums and start getting round the country."

    HarrisonImage source, PA Media
  7. 'It will be a big challenge'published at 12:36 Greenwich Mean Time 23 February 2020

    England v Ireland (12:45 GMT)

    England wing Abby Dow: "Ireland’s team have changed around a lot of people from last season.

    "It’s quite different to analyse them this year so we’ve got to be switched on so we get the impact we want from the first couple of minutes of the game.

    "It will be a big challenge because they’ve already beaten two teams."

  8. How it stands...published at 12:33 Greenwich Mean Time 23 February 2020

    England v Ireland (12:45 GMT)

    tableImage source, BBC Sport
  9. Should they stay or go?published at 12:30 Greenwich Mean Time 23 February 2020

    England v Ireland (12:45 GMT)

    Becky Grey
    BBC Sport at Castle Park

    There has been some discussion this week about whether England should keep coming back to Castle Park or whether they should go somewhere bigger now that they’ve sold it out.

    Whatever happens, today’s fans are pretty lucky to be so close to the action.

    Fans watch England players warm up from the touchlineImage source, BBC Sport
  10. 'It shows how far the game is moving on'published at 12:28 Greenwich Mean Time 23 February 2020

    England v Ireland (12:45 GMT)

    This will be the third time England Women have played at Castle Park as they continue their Grand Slam defence against the only other unbeaten team in the tournament.

    A crowd of 10,545 watched the Red Roses beat Italy at Exeter's Sandy Park in the 2019 Six Nations and the Rugby Football Union's head of women's performance Nicky Ponsford says the latest sell-out crowd is "really exciting".

    "We've been close to selling out Doncaster before but we haven't actually done it," Ponsford said on the RFU website.

    "What this does show is how far the game is moving on, that people want to come and see us play and there's nothing better than playing in stadiums that are sold out."

  11. Postpublished at 12:24 Greenwich Mean Time 23 February 2020

    England v Ireland (12:45 GMT)

    Certainly brighter than England's last outing...

    englandImage source, PA
  12. It’s not raining!published at 12:24 Greenwich Mean Time 23 February 2020

    England v Ireland (12:45 GMT)

    Becky Grey
    BBC Sport at Castle Park

    The unthinkable happened as the two sides were warming up... the sun came out.

    Had forgotten what a sunny day looked like. Fingers crossed the conditions hold until kick-off.

    Teams warm up in the sunshineImage source, BBC Sport
  13. Italy v Scotland cancelledpublished at 12:21 Greenwich Mean Time 23 February 2020

    Fears over the spread of coronavirus have led to the postponement of Scotland Women's Six Nations match with Italy along with other sporting events.

    Three Serie A football matches were called off by the Italian government because of an increased number of cases in the Veneto and Lombardy regions.

    Scotland were due to play Italy at 17:10 GMT in Legnano on Sunday.

    Scottish Rugby has put plans in place for all staff and players to travel back to Scotland immediately.

    The suspension of "all sporting events" in the area was announced by Italian prime minister Giuseppe Conte at a news conference on Saturday.

    Scottish Rugby pointed out that the government had made the move to contain the virus in the south east of the region.

  14. Breezy does itpublished at 12:18 Greenwich Mean Time 23 February 2020

    England v Ireland (12:45 GMT)

    Becky Grey
    BBC Sport at Castle Park

    It’s pretty windy at Castle Park today. Expect a few high balls and kicks at goal to go astray.

    Luckily there were some pristine plaits on show when England arrived so hair in the eyes shouldn’t be a problem at least.

    England women arrive at castle parkImage source, BBC Sport
  15. Postpublished at 12:15 Greenwich Mean Time 23 February 2020

    England v Ireland (12:45 GMT)

    DonnyImage source, Getty

    Welcome to Donny...

    Spectators are beginning to trickle into what is a sold-out Castle Park today, eagerly anticipating this top-of-the-table clash between England and Ireland.

    And we're here to steer you through it...

    EnglandImage source, Getty Images