England v Ireland preview

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George Ford will make his England Test debut against Ireland on Saturday in the third round of the RBS Six Nations.
The Bath fly-half has been named on the bench by Stuart Lancaster replacing Saracens Brad Barritt as England seek a win to remain in the hunt for their first European trophy since 2011.
Ford, 20, who moved to The Rec from Leicester last summer, has been in superb form this season overtaking Gloucester’s Freddie Burns and Northampton‘s Stephen Myler in the pecking order.
After representing England at U18s, U20s and Saxons level, the 2011 IRB Junior Player of the Year should get on the pitch in the second half as a cover for Owen Farrell.
Lancaster has been forced to make a change in the front row following Dan Cole’s injury. He replaced at tighthead by David Wilson with Sale‘s Henry Thomas on the bench.
Lancaster said: “We are excited about being back at our home after two games on the road. The Twickenham crowd during the November internationals was superb and I’m sure it’ll be the same again on Saturday.
“We have been forced into one change and we wish Dan Cole all the best for his recovery. However, David Wilson is an experienced international with 31 caps and he showed in his three starts against Argentina last year what he can do.
“It’s great to have George involved. He has settled in well and we are confident in his ability should he get his opportunity from the bench.”
Meanwhile Ireland’s starting XV is unchanged from the one that thumped Wales two weeks ago with Brian O’Driscoll set to equal George Gregan’s record as the most capped player.
The Leinster centre will earn his 130th Test cap despite missing training earlier this week with a stomach bug.
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.
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.”
England: Mike Brown (Harlequins); Jack Nowell (Exeter), Luther Burrell (Northampton), Billy Twelvetrees (Gloucester), Jonny May (Gloucester); Owen Farrell (Saracens), Danny Care (Harlequins); Joe Marler (Harlequins), Dylan Hartley (Northampton), David Wilson (Bath);  Joe Launchbury (London Wasps), Courtney Lawes (Northampton); Tom Wood (Northampton), Chris Robshaw (Harlequins, Capt.), Billy Vunipola (Saracens).
Replacements: Tom Youngs (Leicester), Mako Vunipola (Saracens), Henry Thomas (Sale), David Attwood (Bath), Ben Morgan (Gloucester),  Lee Dickson (Northampton), George Ford (Bath), Alex Goode (Saracens).
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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