Joe Schmidt has made significant changes to the Ireland team for the final Six Nations match against a Grand Slam-chasing English side.
Jared Payne is named at fullback in place of Rob Kearney – who doesn't make the matchday 23 due to a knee injury – and Iain Henderson starts at lock instead of Devin Toner while Kieran Marmion replaces the injured Conor Murray at scrumhalf.
This is a major disruption against a team that is chasing a record 19 straight wins. Schmidt planned to select Murray and Kearney up until training ended on Tuesday.
Murray exacerbated his shoulder injury at training on Thursday while Kearney “fully trained” said Schmidt, on Tuesday but Toner has been dropped.
“It was a tight call but Donnacha Ryan played well last weekend. Not that Dev played badly, we just wanted to get a balance.”
Andrew Conway and Luke McGrath have been added to the bench. They have one cap between them; McGrath coming off the bench against Canada last year).
“Conor trained okay on Tuesday without contact. We fitness tested him today and he wasn’t going to be quite 100 per cent, not that he couldn’t function but when the contact came back in he got more bruising on top of bruising on that shoulder.”
The injury was described as a “stinger” by the Ireland medic on the field in Cardiff last Friday.
“If we lost him early in the game we would be vulnerable,” Schmidt explained. “It is a fantastic opportunity for Kieran Marmion.”
Seems more like a daunting opportunity. Schmidt has rarely put trust in Marmion despite some impressive form for Connacht last season.
“We lose Conor’s experience of 50-plus caps, we lose his calm, he is incredibly calm on the pitch and he is a good foil for other players who are under pressure. You lose a defender who is incredibly good at organising other people and he makes very good decisions.
“His experience will leave a hole for us. We got a combined caps of Kieran Marmion and Luke McGrath of about a dozen. As compared to 140 England have with their halfbacks.
“Rob, we hope it is nothing too serious. He is going to see a specialist. He trained fully on Tuesday and was in some discomfort afterwards.”
Payne, a fullback for Ulster, was superb at 15 in South Africa last summer.
“He’s a very solid player, very seldom he makes an error. His ability to see space and look after the ball . . . we’d have a lot of confidence in that,” added Schmidt.
Ireland are entering the worst period of results since Schmidt took over in the summer of 2013 but the group, in stark contrast to the public, are adamant that their performances remain close to the standard that saw victories over New Zealand and Australia in November.
“No, I don’t think so at all,” responded CJ Stander to the suggestion that Irish performances have dropped significantly this year.
What is the difference then?
“We just got to look after the ball more.”
England coach Eddie Jones is adamant that Ireland will play the most basic pressure rugby imaginable; that Johnny Sexton will “kick” and the crowd will “clap”.
“There is always external noise,” said Schmidt. “If we get distracted by that it will not be of benefit to us.”
Jones has made two changes to his team with Anthony Watson coming in at right wing for Jack Nowell and Billy Vunipola returning at number eight instead of Nathan Hughes.
IRELAND: J Payne; K Earls, G Ringrose, R Henshaw, S Zebo; J Sexton, K Marmion; J McGrath, R Best (capt), T Furlong; D Ryan, I Henderson; CJ Stander, S O'Brien, J Heaslip.
Replacements: N Scannell, C Healy, J Ryan, D Toner, P O'Mahony, L McGrath, P Jackson, A Conway.
ENGLAND: M Brown (Harlequins); A Watson (Bath), J Joseph (Bath), O Farrell (Saracens), E Daly (Wasps); G Ford (Bath), B Youngs (Leicester); J Marler (Harlequins) D Hartley (Northampton, capt), D Cole (Leicester); J Launchbury (Wasps), C Lawes (Northampton); M Itoje (Saracens), J Haskell (Wasps), B Vunipola (Saracens).
Replacements: J George (Saracens), M Vunipola (Saracens), K Sinckler (Harlequins), T Wood (Northampton), N Hughes (Wasps), D Care (Harlequins), B Te'o (Worcester), J Nowell (Exeter).
