Rugby-England, Ireland set for Six Nations St Patrick's showdown

May 16 (Reuters) - Ireland will get another opportunity to dent double defending champions England's celebrations at next year's Six Nations, with the two sides set to face each other at Twickenham on the final day of the tournament on March 17.

Ireland beat England 13-9 on the final day of this year's tournament to ruin their rival's hopes of a second successive grand slam and a world record 19th victory in a row, and will be hoping for a similar result on St Patrick's Day next year.

The Six Nations starts on Feb. 3 with Wales and Scotland facing off in Cardiff, and Ireland travelling to Paris to play France. England travel to Italy a day later.

England and Wales renew hostilities in the highlight of round two at Twickenham on Feb. 10, while France take on Italy in round three the Friday after, in a match to be played at a yet-to-be announced venue outside Paris for the first time.

"We are delighted to confirm the fixture dates for the 2018 Championship, coming shortly after a record breaking 2017 edition," Six Nations Rugby chairman Pat Whelan said in a statement.

"We enjoyed record figures across TV and digital and look forward to continuing that trend over the next two seasons."

The 2019 edition of the Six Nations will begin on Feb. 1 and runs until March 16.

2018 Six Nations championship fixtures (times GMT):

Feb. 3

Wales v Scotland 1415

France v Ireland 1645

Feb. 4

Italy v England 1500

Feb. 10

Ireland v Italy 1415

England v Wales 1645

Feb. 11

Scotland v France 1500

Feb. 23

France v Italy 2000

Feb. 24

Ireland v Wales 1415

Scotland v England 1645

March 10

Ireland v Scotland 1415

France v England 1645

March 11

Wales v Italy 1500

March 17

Italy v Scotland 1230

England v Ireland 1445

Wales v France 1700 (Reporting by Simon Jennings in Bengaluru; Editing by John O'Brien)