IRELAND HEAD COACH Andy Farrell has named an unchanged starting team for his side’s clash with England at Twickenham in the Six Nations on Sunday [KO 3pm, Virgin Media One].
After victories over Scotland and Wales in the opening two rounds of the championship, Farrell has opted for continuity as he looks for Ireland to maintain their winning momentum.
21-year-old number eight Caelan Doris is fit again after suffering a head injury in the opening minutes of his debut against Scotland but has to settle for a place on the bench as Farrell sticks with a back row of Peter O’Mahony, Josh van der Flier, and CJ Stander.
Cian Healy, Rob Herring, and Tadhg Furlong make up the front row for the third game in a row, while James Ryan and Iain Henderson once again partner up in the second row.
Conor Murray and captain Johnny Sexton are the starting halfbacks again, while Robbie Henshaw has recovered from his head injury against Wales to line up in midfield alongside Bundee Aki.
Keith Earls’ impressive showing off the bench against the Welsh hasn’t persuaded Farrell to rejig his back three either, as Andrew Conway, Jacob Stockdale, and Jordan Larmour start again.
Doris’ reintroduction is the only change to Ireland’s bench for this weekend, with Max Deegan dropping out of the matchday 23.
Ireland (v England):
15. Jordan Larmour
14. Andrew Conway
13. Robbie Henshaw
12. Bundee Aki
11. Jacob Stockdale
10. Johnny Sexton (captain)
9. Conor Murray
1. Cian Healy
2. Rob Herring
3. Tadhg Furlong
4. Iain Henderson
5. James Ryan
6. Peter O’Mahony
7. Josh van der Flier
8. CJ Stander
Replacements:
16. Ronan Kelleher
17. Dave Kilcoyne
18. Andrew Porter
19. Devin Toner
20. Caelan Doris
21. John Cooney
22. Ross Byrne
23. Keith Earls
