England Team To Face Ireland

Eddie Jones has named his team for England’s Quilter International against Ireland this weekend.

England will host Ireland at Twickenham Stadium on Saturday (3pm KO) as they look to build on their winning start to the Autumn Nations Cup – after beating Georgia 40-0 in their opening match.

Owen Farrell will captain the side at fly half. Ollie Lawrence will make his second start for England at outside centre, with Henry Slade at inside centre.

The team’s most-capped player, Ben Youngs, will play at scrum half, while Jonathan Joseph and Jonny May are on the wing. Elliot Daly will play at full back. Jamie George, who scored a hat-trick of tries against Georgia, is at hooker with Mako Vunipola (loose-head prop) and Kyle Sinckler (tight-head prop) beside him in the front row.

Maro Itoje moves to lock, joining Joe Launchbury, to complete the tight five. Tom Curry (blindside) and Sam Underhill (openside) return to the starting line up as flankers, with Billy Vunipola making up the back row at number 8.

George Ford returns from injury and is named as a finisher along with last weekend’s debutant Max Malins and try-scorer Dan Robson. Tom Dunn, Ben Earl, Ellis Genge, Jonny Hill and Will Stuart complete the bench.

Jones said: “I’ve picked the strongest team possible for the most important game of our season.

“We have the highest respect for the Ireland and their coach Andy Farrell. They’ve had good preparation with two wins and a dominant display against Wales, and we will need to be at our best on Saturday.

“We’ve trained well this week, we’re expecting a tough, physical game against Ireland and we’ve reflected that in our sessions. We’ll look to lift our performance even higher and are looking forward to a really good game of rugby.”

England v Ireland

ENGLAND XV STARTERS
15. Elliot Daly (Saracens, 44 caps)
14. Jonathan Joseph (Bath Rugby, 52 caps)
13. Ollie Lawrence (Worcester Warriors, 2 caps)
12. Henry Slade (Exeter Chiefs, 31 caps)
11. Jonny May (Gloucester Rugby, 58 caps)
10. Owen Farrell (c) (Saracens, 85 caps)
9. Ben Youngs (Leicester Tigers, 101 caps)
1. Mako Vunipola (Saracens, 61 caps)
2. Jamie George (Saracens, 51 caps)
3. Kyle Sinckler (Bristol Bears, 37 caps)
4. Maro Itoje (Saracens, 40 caps)
5. Joe Launchbury (Wasps, 66 caps)
6. Tom Curry (Sale Sharks, 25 caps)
7. Sam Underhill (Bath Rugby, 19 caps)
8. Billy Vunipola (Saracens, 53 caps)

FINISHERS
16. Tom Dunn (Bath Rugby, 2 caps)
17. Ellis Genge (Leicester Tigers, 20 caps)
18. Will Stuart (Bath Rugby, 5 caps)
19. Jonny Hill (Exeter Chiefs, 1 cap)
20. Ben Earl (Bristol Bears, 5 caps)
21. Dan Robson (Wasps, 4 caps)
22. George Ford (Leicester Tigers, 69 caps)
23. Max Malins (Bristol Bears, 1 cap)