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England play their third Rugby World Cup warm-up match this weekend against Ireland in what is their final run-out at Twickenham before they fly to Japan.
While they have the final match against Italy at Newcastle’s St James’s Park still to negotiate, this will be the last time England play in their home stadium before their World Cup campaign, giving fans one last chance to see if they are really capable of challenging for the Webb Ellis Cup.
They are likely to be bolstered by a number of players returning from injury, with Tom Curry, Sam Underhill and Mark Wilson all due to return from short-term injuries and Mako Vunipola in contention after surgery on his hamstring.
The quartet could all feature at some point, while a number of key players are expected to make their first starts of the warm-up campaign against their Six Nations rivals, who England expect to bring a fully-loaded side to Twickenham.
Here’s the England team that The Independent would pick to face Ireland this weekend.
Show all 23 1 /23England vs Ireland predicted team England vs Ireland predicted team 1. Joe Marler Mako Vunipola is hoping to return from long-term injury but England would be wise to ease him back in and give Joe Marler his first start of the campaign.
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England vs Ireland predicted team 2. Jamie George It would be good to give Jack Singleton minutes from the start but against a team such as Ireland, first-choice Jamie George would be the smart option.
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England vs Ireland predicted team 3. Kyle Sinckler After Dan Cole started the first two matches against Wales, it makes sense to give Sinckler the next two starting with the Irish.
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England vs Ireland predicted team 4. Maro Itoje Despite having four excellent locks, England are stretched a little bit due to injuries in the back-row that they have had to cover, so Itoje will need to double up this weekend.
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England vs Ireland predicted team 5. George Kruis After coming off the bench last weekend, Kruis can come in to return to the starting line-up in place of Joe Launchbury.
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England vs Ireland predicted team 6. Tom Curry It would be good for the England coaching team to see how Curry goes at six before they depart for Japan, and providing he is fully fit, he should return to the starting line-up after a shoulder knock.
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England vs Ireland predicted team 7. Sam Underhill Like Curry, his return is injury-dependent but the early signs look positive. Two games later than planned, we should hopefully see what the Curry-Underhill axis in the back-row can do.
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England vs Ireland predicted team 8. Mark Wilson His selection poses as a risk given he is another member of this back-row unit that missed last weekend with injury, but deployed Billy Vunipola for a third straight hit-out would be risking it given his recent injury record.
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England vs Ireland predicted team 9. Ben Youngs A straight swap with Willi Heinz that would again see them rotate after the Gloucester scrum-half started both Wales games.
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England vs Ireland predicted team 10. Owen Farrell Made his first appearance of the warm-up campaign off the bench last week and almost certain to start against Ireland – although may not necessarily be in the No 10 shirt depending on what Jones chooses to go with.
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England vs Ireland predicted team 11. Jonny May England have held him back so far but could do with the minutes to keep him up to speed.
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England vs Ireland predicted team 12. Manu Tuilagi Has made two fleeting appearances a late replacement so far, and likely to start at Twickenham on Saturday. But if Jones decides to pair Ford and Farrell, he could find himself in the 13 shirt instead.
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England vs Ireland predicted team 13. Piers Francis The injuries to Henry Slade and Jack Nowell gives England a problem at centre. One of Jonathan Joseph or Piers Francis will have to go back-to-back-to-back, and given Joseph is not long returned from a serious injury, it would be sensible to give that responsibility to Francis.
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England vs Ireland predicted team 14. Joe Cokanasiga Another player who will need to make his third appearance in a row with Nowell and Ruaridh McConnochie ruled out, and the Bath wing will be needed to step up to ensure Anthony Watson is not put under too great a demand early on in his return.
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England vs Ireland predicted team 15. Elliot Daly Falls into the category of the triple-appearance due to Nowell and McConnochie’s absence.
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England vs Ireland predicted team <b>Replacements:</b> 16. Jack Singleton Could use the minutes from the bench and, as we saw last weekend, also offers support across the back-row.
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England vs Ireland predicted team 17. Mako Vunipola Expected to make his return from a torn hamstring after three months out.
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England vs Ireland predicted team 18. Dan Cole A given due to only having two tightheads in the squad, unless Jones springs a surprise and names Vunipola in the starting XV, Ellis Genge as loosehead cover and deploys Marler as his emergency tighthead. Unlikely to happen against Ireland, though.
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England vs Ireland predicted team 19. Courtney Lawes Selected to cover the second and back rows by virtue of playing fewer minutes than Joe Launchbury.
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England vs Ireland predicted team 20. Billy Vunipola Allows Wilson to move to blindside flanker if needed as Lawes can cover flanker.
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England vs Ireland predicted team 21. Willi Heinz Drops to the bench after his first two international appearances of his career.
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England vs Ireland predicted team 22. George Ford Could maintain his place in the starting line-up but more likely to drop to the bench.
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England vs Ireland predicted team 23. Anthony Watson Able to cover wing and full-back, meaning Daly can be deployed at outside centre if needed and Farrell can cover 12. Likely to be picked ahead of Joseph as otherwise England would need to risk Francis at full-back if anything were to happen to Daly.
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England vs Ireland kicks off at 3pm on Saturday 24 August, and you can follow match live with The Independent as we bring you the latest updates from the Rugby World Cup warm-up clash.
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