Six Nations 2018: George Ford dropped as Eddie Jones wields the axe to make seven changes for Ireland clash
England must beat Ireland to avoid suffering their worst Six Nations campaign since 2006
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Your support makes all the difference.George Ford has been dropped from the England side for their final Six Nations clash with Ireland as Eddie Jones wields the axe with seven new faces and 10 changes in total to the side that suffered back-to-back defeats, with Danny Care, Joe Launchbury and Dan Cole also paying the price.
Owen Farrell is moved to his natural fly-half position as Ford drops to the bench, having seen his form slump during the 2018 championship, while Richard Wigglesworth comes into the side to partner his Saracens half-back colleague in place of Care.
Captain Dylan Hartley has been passed fit to return to the side after missing the 22-16 defeat against France last weekend, with Leicester Tigers prop Cole dropped to the replacements’ bench as Kyle Sinckler makes his first start for England. George Kruis comes back into the second-row to partner fellow Saracen Maro Itoje, and both James Haskell and Sam Simmonds come into the back-row as expected at openside flanker and No 8 respectively, with Chris Robshaw moving to blindside.
With Farrell switching to fly-half, Ben Te’o moves inside to the vacant 12 shirt and Jonathan Joseph is restored to the side, while the back three remains intact with Elliot Daly recovering from the minor foot injury he suffered last week, meaning that Anthony Watson continues at full-back and Mike Brown misses out once again.
Jones was forced into two of his changes through injury, with Courtney Lawes and Nathan Hughes both ruled out for at least three months after undergoing knee surgery this week that has ended their seasons prematurely. Both forwards sustained knee ligament damage in the defeat in Paris, with Haskell and Armand drafted into the squad to replace them.
With Hughes absent at No 8 and first-choice Billy Vunipola already sidelined as he recovers from a fractured arm, Simmonds returns to make his first start since suffering a shoulder problem in the win over Wales last month, although the Exeter Chiefs back-row did replace Hughes last weekend when he came off midway through the first half.
England team vs Ireland
Anthony Watson; Jonny May, Jonathan Joseph, Ben Te’o, Elliot Daly; Owen Farrell, Richard Wigglesworth; Mako Vunipola, Dylan Hartley, Kyle Sinckler; Maro Itoje, George Kruis; Chris Robshaw, James Haskell, Sam Simmonds.
Replacements: Jamie George, Joe Marler, Dan Cole, Joe Launchbury, Don Armand, Danny Care, George Ford, Mike Brown.
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