England vs. Ireland: Prediction and Preview for Rugby League World Cup Fixture

Having dropped results to Australia and Fiji respectively last week, England and Ireland once again take to the Rugby League World Cup platform on Saturday hoping to tie up their first points of the tournament.

Steve McNamara's side did manage to show some initiative against the Kangaroos initially but were gradually outmatched at the Millennium Stadium and saw their first-half lead eventually chipped away until defeat was the outcome.

For Ireland, it was a much less stubborn affair and the attacking flair of the Fijians simply proved too much for Mark Aston's men, whose Super League assortment were soundly bested by a batch of their NRL counterparts.

By the end of Saturday's proceedings, one or both of these Home Nations will have points to their name, hoping to get their Group A qualification run up and running.

Date: Saturday, Nov. 2

Time: 2:30 p.m. GMT/10:30 a.m. ET

Venue: John Smith's Stadium, Huddersfield

England head into this weekend's matchup as heavy favourites to come out with the two points and they undoubtedly boast the more impressive performance in Week 1 of their World Cup campaign.

McNamara's men sparked into an early lead against the Kangaroos and showed a standard that may have even led them to victory over one of the tournament favourites, but they just weren't able to maintain such quality for 80 minutes.

The Irish won't have the same strength across the park and are relying mostly on a few key stars rather than a deep roster.

The difference in pedigree is so sizable that Ireland are alleged to have been the ones responsible for setting a fire alarm off at 6:30 a.m. in the England camp on Friday. Sam Tomkins was kind enough to give a team reaction to the disruption through his Instagram account:

James Hasson is one of the few NRL talents within Ireland's ranks who could pose a problem in the underdog's favour, as will Pat Richards, having just agreed a move back to Australia after spending the last seven years with Wigan Warriors.

A lack of Irish attacking talent is sure to be shown up even further by the quality of England's back line, where Tomkins will be one of those targeted by Aston's side.

The full-back was at times shown to be defensively suspect but won't be put under nearly as much pressure this time around and should be able to inject a bit more flair going forward.

This will be England's first game without the suspended Sam Burgess, whose aggressive antics against the Aussies last week was enough to see him become the first player banned at this year's World Cup.

Prediction

There's no looking past England for this encounter, where Ireland will need to rely on much more than hotel pranks to earn them what would be a highly surprising two points.

England were impressive enough against Australia last week but will have their tails up with the notion that another loss will likely see them exit the tournament. That threat will be firmly rooted in their minds and should ensure complacency does not set in against inferior opposition.

With a thriving list of Super League talents across their squad, England, led by the resolute Kevin Sinfield, are pinned on for two points in Huddersfield.

Prediction: England 42-14 Ireland