England head coach Eddie Jones named team to face Ireland
TEDDINGTON, ENGLAND - MARCH 17: Eddie Jones, Head coach of England looks on during the England training session ahead of the Guinness Six Nations match between Ireland and England at The Lensbury on March 17, 2021 in Teddington, England. (Photo by Adam Davy - Pool/Getty Images)
Henry Slade will not feature for England in their concluding match of the Six Nations against Ireland this Saturday.
The England centre has not recovered from a calf injury he suffered in training earlier this week, and will be replaced at outside centre by Elliot Daly.
Saracens back Daly is preferred to Ollie Lawrence in the position, with the Worcester Warriors ball-carrier joined on the bench by Joe Marchant.
The inclusion of the Harlequins centre/wing means Paolo Odogwu remains uncapped by England having been with the squad for the entirety of the tournament. Capped at U18 and U20 level by England, Odogwu is eligible for selection by Italy should Franco Smith wish to put in a call ahead of this summer’s Test window.
The match at the Aviva Stadium will the second time Daly has worn the No.13 shirt over the course of the 51-Test career.
That loss of Slade is the only change made by England head coach Eddie Jones from the 23-20 win over France last weekend.
Max Malins continues at full-back, as does Luke Cowan-Dickie at hooker with Jamie George remaining among the replacements.
Eddie Jones said: “This is our most important game of the tournament and we want to finish well.
“We’re anticipating a hard, tough game against Ireland and we’ve picked this team to cope with that.
“We want to take it to Ireland physically and play the rugby we want to play.”
England team to play Ireland in the 2021 Six Nations
England: 15 Max Malins, 14 Anthony Watson, 13 Elliot Daly, 12 Owen Farrell (c), 11 Jonny May, 10 George Ford, 9 Ben Youngs; 1 Mako Vunipola, 2 Luke Cowan-Dickie, 3 Kyle Sinckler, 4 Maro Itoje, 5 Charlie Ewels, 6 Mark Wilson, 7 Tom Curry, 8 Billy Vunipola
Replacements: 16 Jamie George, 17 Ellis Genge, 18 Will Stuart, 19 Jonny Hill, 20 Ben Earl, 21 Dan Robson, 22 Ollie Lawrence, 23 Joe Marchant
