"They'll be quietly confident" – Chris Robshaw: former England captain backs for shock win over Ireland in 2025 Six Nations opener

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Former England captain Chris Robshaw believes that Steve Borthwick’s side will be ‘quietly confident’, ahead of their trip to Dublin this weekend. England take on Ireland at the Aviva Stadium this Saturday, in the opening round of the 2025 Men’s Guinness Six Nations. Robshaw has the firm backing of Borthwick’s men, despite being considered the underdogs of the first round clash.

“I think honestly, they’ll be quietly confident going over there. I think they’ll be confident in their ability. They haven’t been too far away, of course, like any team when you go on the road, when you’re up against things, you need a little bit of luck, and they will.

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“But they have the players. I think Ollie Chessum coming back into the side, you would have thought will be a massive bonus to the squad. I think their depth, their defense, will get a lot stronger as well. They’ve got a lot of players fit, which is always a bonus. Both Smiths, with Marcus at fly half or fullback, as Furbank has been ruled out. Does that mean Freddie Steward comes in, or does that mean Marcus Smith goes to full back? There are so many options for Steve Borthwick to play with.”

Robshaw expressed how despite a recent run of defeats in the latest Summer and Autumn campaigns, England are not that far away from beating the best teams in the world. Borthwick’s men endured a frustrating run of five consecutive defeats, dating back to their two Summer losses in New Zealand, and running through to the Autumn, as they were beaten at home by the All Blacks, Wallabies and Springboks. With a win over Japan under their belts to round off the Autumn, the Harlequins legend sees plenty of reasons why England are on the cusp of a hot streak.

“I think that’s the big thing, I don’t think that this England side are a million miles away, I saw a lot of ex players, a lot of people giving them a bit of a hammering while they were down. For me, I think their close. You look at that game against New Zealand, that (George Ford drop goal) kick goes (over) or Itoje catches that last re-start against Australia, and they play two phases, kick the ball out and win the game.

“These type of little things have all been going against England, but all of a sudden, these things can change. I think first and foremost, you can’t be conceding 40 points, or high double figure points and expect to be winning.

“Look at our attack, our attack’s been brilliant. Our attack’s been so sharp, it’s been crisp, it’s been exciting. You look at the age profile of this England side, the majority are around the 25 age mark, with a couple of senior guys in there. So, I think there’s so much potential in this England side. It’s going to be tough. They get Ireland away in the first round, and they also have to host Scotland, which are very, very tough games. But, I can see them being impressive in this campaign.”

If there was ever an opportune time to take on Ireland, it could well be now for Steve Borthwick’s side. Ireland are venturing in untested waters with their senior men’s team, as Andy Farrell will be absent from the coaching box for the first time since 2016 for the upcoming Six Nations. Farrell is now fully into his role as head coach of the 2025 British & Irish Lions, and he will be using the upcoming tournament to scout out the best Test match players to add to his touring squad.

The reins of the Irish side are now in the hands of Simon Easterby, who has been apart of the IRFU coaching staff for the past eleven years. Whilst Easterby is by no means a new face around the Ireland camp, Robshaw is interested to see the type of squad Easterby will select, with the looming presence of Lions selectors in the back of the player’s minds.

“It’s gonna be a really interesting one, because Simon Easterby can kind of change selection a bit. Does he have different people that he favors, or picks different players to do a role that maybe Andy Farrell didn’t?”

“There’s always pressure at this level. For him (Easterby) to come into that mold and go through it. Look, he’s an experienced guy, he’s been around it, he knows how the media will be. He know’s how England will be poking the bear and stoking the fire and all that kind of stuff in the build up to the game. And they’ll know that they’re dangerous.

“But I think also with this campaign, all players will know that If they want to go on the Lions this year, then they have to play well in this campaign. They have to produce match after match and for five games. They can’t have one bad game, or one bad moment, because it might go against them come that selection meeting. So it’s really important, and all players will have that in the back of their mind.”

Whilst it remains to see how Ireland will perform with Easterby as the head coach, Robshaw thinks that an indicator of the national team’s form can be seen in recent Leinster performances. The Dubliners make up a substantial amount of the Ireland squad, and Leinster have been in tremendous form so far this season. The Irish province has gone unbeaten in both the United Rugby Championship and the Investec Champions Cup, with 14 wins from 14 matches to their name in the 2024/25 season.

“Ireland lost their first game in, God knows how long in Ireland, recently to the All Blacks. Everyone was asking, ‘are they what they were?’. The other side of it, you look at Leinster, which is predominantly the Irish side, and they haven’t lost a game yet in all competitions, whether that be the Champions Cup or URC.

“You would have thought that all those players know each other inside and out. I only spoke about it minutely, that the link that (Ben) Earl and (Tom) Willis have because they play with each other week in week out (for Saracens). Imagine doing that with 13 players, that’s a huge bonus, for sure.”

Keeping the England back rows in mind as he wrapped up the conversation, Robshaw cast an eye on a young England bolter who has been at the forefront of the Six Nations build-up. 20-year-old Northampton back row Henry Pollock earned his long awaited call-up to the Six Nations training squad, following Alex Dombrandt’s injury enforced departure.

However, Pollock did not make the cut for Borthwick’s match day squad to face Ireland, and will instead by back in England U20s duties for the opening round match of the U20s Six Nations on Thursday. Whilst Pollock won’t be heading to Dublin with the rest of the senior set-up, the highly rated Saints man will still make the trip across the Irish Sea, as England U20s take on Ireland U20s in Cork tomorrow evening. Robshaw expressed how he can see a senior Test debut in Pollock’s future, but the young back row may well have to wait until after the 2025 Six Nations.

“I think Henry Pollock is a tremendous talent and a young guy coming through, he’s going to be there and there about, I don’t think he’s quite there yet. No doubt in the Summer, when players go out for the Lions, I think he’ll then have an opportunity to play, when England tour Argentina and the US, which is going to be a tremendously tough.

“But I think the question you have to ask at this point, is he better than Underhill, or Curry? if you’re going to play another seven role, probably not. So you’d have to leave one of them out. So I think for me, he’s definitely a player who will get an opportunity, will it be in this Six Nations?

“I wouldn’t have thought so. But I would have thought the summer tour would be a great opportunity for him to come in and show what he’s about, because seeing what he’s done at the U20s ,seeing what he’s done at Northampton, he’s a tremendous talent in England. Definitely one for the future, I believe.”

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