England's Steve Borthwick makes four changes to side for trip to face Grand Slam-chasing Ireland in Round 5 of Six Nations; Skipper Owen Farrell is recalled and replaces Marcus Smith at 10; Manu Tuilagi replaces injured Ollie Lawrence; Henry Arundell in for first Test start on wing
Saturday 18 March 2023 09:21, UK
Owen Farrell has replaced Marcus Smith at fly-half as England make four changes for the trip to face Grand Slam-chasing Ireland, with Manu Tuilagi and Henry Arundell also brought in - the latter for his first Test start.
Steve Borthwick has responded to last weekend's 53-10 humiliation at home to France by changing things up, with Arundell replacing Max Malins on the wing and skipper Farrell restored from the start.
Tuilagi comes in for his first appearance of the championship, replacing the injured Ollie Lawrence (hamstring) at inside centre, while lock David Ribbans replaces the injured Ollie Chessum (ankle) in the fourth change.
Farrell last started at 10 with Tuilagi and Henry Slade as his two centres for the 2019 Rugby World Cup quarter-final victory over Australia in Japan.
The backline is reshuffled in the back-three also, in the sense that Anthony Watson moves from the left wing to right, with Arundell coming onto the left, and Malins left out of the 23-player squad altogether, with Harlequins centre Joe Marchant named among the replacements.
Freddie Steward is again named at full-back, while scrum-half Jack van Poortvliet retains his place despite a disappointing showing vs France last week.
In the forwards, the front-row is unchanged as loosehead Ellis Genge, hooker Jamie George and tighthead Kyle Sinckler start again, while Maro Itoje partners Ribbans in the second row - with the latter beating off competition from the likes of Nick Isiekwe, George Martin and Jonny Hill to claim a starting shirt.
Alex Dombrandt keeps his place at No 8, despite speculation he would be dropped, with injuries to Courtney Lawes and Chessum denying Borthwick the chance to field a third lock at blindside flanker.
As such, Lewis Ludlam and Jack Willis remain at blindside and openside flanker respectively, forming the back-row with Dombrandt.
Aside from the additions of Marchant and Isiekwe, and the presence of Smith, the replacements bench is the same with hooker Jack Walker, loosehead Mako Vunipola, tighthead Dan Cole, back-row Ben Curry and scrum-half Alex Mitchell all listed.
"We travel to Dublin to face an Ireland team on Saturday that has the chance to secure a Grand Slam victory at home for the first time," Borthwick said after naming the side on Thursday.
"We know that after the bitter disappointment of the display against an exceptional France team last week, we will have to be much improved to meet the challenge of playing the side presently ranked No 1 in the world.
"However, I have witnessed an England squad determined to make amends for the defeat at Twickenham, and I am confident that the team announced today will once again want to show the sort of resilience and attitude that brought us victory in Wales."
England: 15 Freddie Steward, 14 Anthony Watson, 13 Henry Slade, 12 Manu Tuilagi, 11 Henry Arundell, 10 Owen Farrell (c), 9 Jack van Poortvliet; 1 Ellis Genge, 2 Jamie George, 3 Kyle Sinckler, 4 David Ribbans, 5 Maro Itoje, 6 Lewis Ludlam, 7 Jack Willis, 8 Alex Dombrandt.
Replacements: 16 Jack Walker, 17 Mako Vunipola, 18 Dan Cole, 19 Nick Isiekwe, 20 Ben Curry, 21 Alex Mitchell, 22 Marcus Smith, 23 Joe Marchant.
