Performance key for Ireland against England - Flood

Q: Why is Ireland treating the match against England as so important?

Ireland see the opening Six Nations game as a major test and a chance to set the tone for their campaign. Stacey Flood said a strong performance is important, even though England are the world champions and heavy favourites.

Q: What makes the Ireland vs England game at Twickenham significant?

The match is expected to draw a tournament-record crowd, with more than 67,000 tickets already sold. That would beat the previous Women’s Six Nations attendance record of 58,498 set in 2023 against France.

Stacey Flood has won 24 caps for Ireland [Getty Images]

Ireland full-back Stacey Flood said "a performance is really important" for Scott Bemand side against England in their opening Women's Six Nations game.

The Irish face the world champions at Twickenham on Saturday in front of what is set to be a tournament record crowd as more than 67,000 tickets have already been sold, all but guaranteeing an improvement on the existing record crowd of 58,498 set against France in 2023.

It will be a tough ask for Ireland to start with a victory given the Red Roses have won seven straight Six Nations titles and last lost a game in 2018, but Flood is relishing the chance to play in such a big occasion and potentially cause an upset.

"They're coming off the back of winning a home World Cup which is extraordinary, ticket sales are so good and we'll hopefully beat the record in Twickenham," she told BBC Sport NI.

"They'll want a big game but we want a big game too. A performance is really important to start our Six Nations well."

Centre Eve Higgins added that the game will be a good chance for Ireland to assess where they are in comparison to the world's best side.

Ireland held England to a 7-5 scoreline at half-time in Cork in last year's championship only for England to blow them away in the second half to win 49-5.

"I always want to play the best teams in the world, I get up for them," she said.

"They're the best in the world for a reason and you want to see how not only you as a player, but as a team play against them, so really looking forward to it.

"I was part of the team that played them in 2024 at Twickenham [when England won 88-10 in front of 48,778 fans] and to see those crowds again will be cool.

"They're top of the game with crowds and the World Cup was special so it will be a cool experience."