Captain Farrell And Tuilagi Combine In England Midfield
Manu Tuilagi and captain Owen Farrell will wear the number 13 and 12 jerseys for England this weekend ©INPHO/Gary Carr
England head coach Eddie Jones has made nine personnel changes for their final home match before the Rugby World Cup against Ireland at Twickenham (kick-off 3pm).
Scrum half Ben Youngs and captain Owen Farrell and Manu Tuilagi, who combine in the centre, will start their first game of the warm-up fixtures. Jonny May makes his seasonal debut on the left wing with Bath’s Joe Cokanasiga switching to the right.
Joe Marler, Jamie George and Kyle Sinckler resume in the front row, having been on the bench against Wales. George Kruis slots in alongside his Saracens club-mate Maro Itoje in the second row, with Tom Curry and Sam Underhill back from injury in the loose forwards.
Jones, who also welcomes back prop Mako Vunipola from hamstring surgery, said: “The players have come back in a very good physical and mental state and we have had a good preparation this week. We purposefully made the week short looking ahead to the World Cup where this might happen beyond our control.
“It is the third of four games for us and come the eighth of September, when we get on the plane to Japan, we want to be ready to go. This is another step forward for us.
“This weekend we will be looking to gain more game fitness and testing different sorts of game strategies. We have a specific way of how we want to play and the focus is very much on ourselves.”
On the home support this weekend, he added: “We have been so appreciative of the support we have had at Twickenham this year and this is our last match there before the tournament, so we look forward to playing well in front of our fans.”
ENGLAND Team & Replacements (v Ireland, Rugby World Cup Warm-Up Match, Twickenham Stadium, Saturday, August 24, kick-off 3pm):
Player/Club/Caps –
15. Elliot Daly (Saracens) 32
14. Joe Cokanasiga (Bath) 6
13. Manu Tuilagi (Leicester Tigers) 34
12. Owen Farrell (Saracens) (capt) 71
11. Jonny May (Leicester Tigers) 45
10. George Ford (Leicester Tigers) 57
9. Ben Youngs (Leicester Tigers) 87
1. Joe Marler (Harlequins) 60
2. Jamie George (Saracens) 38
3. Kyle Sinckler (Harlequins) 23
4. Maro Itoje (Saracens) 28
5. George Kruis (Saracens) 34
6. Tom Curry (Sale Sharks) 11
7. Sam Underhill (Bath) 9
8. Billy Vunipola (Saracens) 43
Replacements:
16. Luke Cowan-Dickie (Exeter Chiefs) 13
17. Mako Vunipola (Saracens) 53
18. Dan Cole (Leicester Tigers) 87
19. Courtney Lawes (Northampton Saints) 73
20. Mark Wilson (Newcastle Falcons/Sale Sharks) 13
21. Willi Heinz (Gloucester) 2
22. Piers Francis (Northampton Saints) 6
23. Jonathan Joseph (Bath) 42