Unchanged Ireland to take on England

Ireland have named an unchanged side for Saturday’s RBS 6 Nations clash against England at Twickenham.
Paul O’Connell will lead the side as the unbeaten Irish seek their first win in Twickenham since 2010. Chris Henry, a try scorer against Wales, retains the No.7 jersey and is joined in the back row by Peter O’Mahony and Jamie Heaslip.
Conor Murray and Johnny Sexton continue as the half-back pairing with Brian O’Driscoll and Gordon D’Arcy lining out in midfield. O’Driscoll will equals George Gregan as the most capped player of all time in Test rugby despite missing training earlier this week with a stomach bug.
There are two changes on the bench with Iain Henderson in for the injured Dan Touhy and the uncapped Jordi Murphy providing back-row cover.
“Brian trained fully on Thursday, and in fact he could have trained on Tuesday, but he just was still feeling the after effects of an illness,” Schmidt said. “And with his experience and know-how he’s in a good position to know what he needs, and he brought that to bear.
“He’s fully ready to go now though. There have been some challenges that would stand out in my mind but none as tough as this.”
“The lads realise what a step up this is and there’s a realistic view of where we need to be to win this match,” said O’Connell. “The confidence isn’t sky-high, it’s realistic.
“The last three times we’ve played England we’ve lost to them. The way we’ve been playing in recent times, particularly our last three games, we’ve been good. But in physicality, fitness and mental stakes the step up is huge. England have spoken a lot about making Twickenham a fortress, but we know that’s exactly what it is.”
Ireland : Rob Kearney (Leinster), Andrew Trimble (Ulster), Brian O’Driscoll (Leinster), Gordon D’Arcy (Leinster), Dave Kearney (Leinster); Jonathan Sexton (Racing Metro), Conor Murray (Munster); Cian Healy (Leinster), Rory Best (Ulster), Mike Ross (Leinster); Devin Toner (Leinster), Paul O’Connell (Munster); Peter O’Mahony (Munster), Chris Henry (Ulster), Jamie Heaslip (Leinster).
Replacements: Sean Cronin (Leinster), Jack McGrath (Leinster), Martin Moore (Leinster), Iain Henderson (Ulster), Jordi Murphy (Leinster), Isaac Boss (Leinster), Paddy Jackson (Ulster), Fergus McFadden (Leinster).
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