It is a daunting fixture at the best of times, but Emily Lane insists that Ireland are excited to be kick-starting their Women’s Six Nations campaign against world champions England at Twickenham this Saturday (kick-off 2.25pm, live on RTÉ 2).

With more than 70,000 tickets already sold, there is due to be a record crowd for a Women’s Six Nations fixture in attendance. This represents a significant increase on the 48,778 spectators that passed through the turnstiles when these sides last faced each other at Twickenham in the fourth round of the 2024 championship.

Lane didn’t feature in that particular outing two years ago. And the scrumhalf will only find out on Thursday if she has made the matchday 23 that is selected by head coach Scott Bemand.

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They will certainly go into the game as underdogs against a side whose most recent Women’s Six Nations defeat was back in March 2018, but Cork native Lane stressed they will do everything within their powers to make it a tough battle.

“There’s no denying, it’s going to be a really, really tough game, but I think getting to play in front of 75,000 is something that doesn’t happen very often. We are really excited to do that and I think we’ve got such a good group … a good mix of young and old,” she said.

“You just have to stop their [England’s] momentum, I think. Once they get that purple patch, they can push on, but it’s just trying to make sure that we keep the heads. Stick to the game plan and trust that our game plan is in place for a reason. We just have to make sure that we just don’t lose the heads.

“If they do score … you’ve got to reset. You don’t win the game until the 80th minute. It’s just staying in it until then. I know last year we held them to it for the first 50 minutes and it’s just making sure that we get that 80-minute performance.”

While they will be eager to leave a lasting impression on their away games against England and France, Ireland also have their sights set on accumulating as many points as possible from their three home encounters in the 2026 championship.

Following on from showdowns with Italy at Dexcom Stadium in Galway on April 18th and Wales at Affidea Stadium in Belfast on May 9th, Ireland are also set to face Scotland at the Aviva Stadium in the final round on May 17th.

Although Ireland previously faced Italy at the venue in a game that served as a double-header with the men’s fixture, the fixture will make history as the first stand-alone women’s rugby international to take place at the home of Irish rugby.

“We’re really looking forward to the home games. That’s where the Irish fans come into their own and that’s where we can come into our own as well. It has kind of been a bare minimum for us this year, to get those three home wins,” added Lane.

“We’re so lucky that we get to travel around the country. To get to Galway … Up to Belfast and then finally in the Aviva. I think we’ve all been looking forward to that, but trying not to get too far ahead. We’re really just focusing on this weekend.”