England and Ireland have played rugby union internationals 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 131 Test matches, with England winning 76 of them, Ireland 47 and 8 resulting in a draw.
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Apart from their annual match, currently part of the Six Nations Championship, the teams have also met in a warm-up match prior to the 2011 and 2015 Rugby World Cup, and a one-off match in April 1988 to celebrate the millennium of the city of Dublin. The winners of the 1988 match, England, were awarded the Millennium Trophy which then became the trophy for the annual match between the teams.
The Millennium Trophy is currently held by England, who won the most recent match 21-10 at Twickenham during the 2016 Six Nations Championship.
Records
Note: Date shown in brackets indicates when the record was or last set.
Breakdown
In the Home Nations Championship (1874-1909 and 1932-1939), England played Ireland on 41 occasions, England winning 27, Ireland 13 and one match has been drawn. In these games, England have scored points, and Ireland.
In the Five Nations (1910-1931 and 1947-1999), England played Ireland on 70 occasions, England winning 38, Ireland 25 and seven matches have been drawn. In these games, England have scored points, and Ireland.
In the Six Nations (2000-present), England have played Ireland on 17 occasions, England winning eight, Ireland nine and no matches have been drawn. In these games, England have scored 369 points, and Ireland 286.
In other test matches, England have played Ireland on three occasions (1988, 2011 and 2015), with England winning all three. Overall, in these matches England have scored 62 points and Ireland 32.