SM
Newcastle vs. West Ham: 12 hrs 52 mins
Upcoming predictions and previews
Six Nations | Group Stage
Feb 23, 2020 at 3pm UK
 
England
24-12
Ireland
Ford (8'), Daly (25'), Cowan-Dickie (62')
FT
Henshaw (50'), Porter (80')

Ireland unchanged for Six Nations trip to Twickenham

:Headline: Ireland unchanged for Six Nations trip to Twickenham: ID:390171: from db_amp
Ireland can clinch the Triple Crown with a win in England.

Ireland head coach Andy Farrell has named an unchanged starting XV for Sunday’s Guinness Six Nations clash with England.

The Irish travel to Twickenham seeking to clinch a second Triple Crown in three years after beginning the tournament with successive home wins over Scotland and Wales.

Farrell has resisted temptation to recall fit-again number eight Caelan Doris for the visit to south-west London, sticking with the in-form CJ Stander in the centre of the back row, with Peter O’Mahony continuing at blindside flanker.

Doris, who was forced off with a head knock in the opening minutes of his international debut against the Scots on February 1, is named among the replacements in place of Max Deegan after missing the bonus-point win over Wayne Pivac’s Wales.

Deegan’s omission is the only change to Farrell’s 23-man squad.

Robbie Henshaw has overcome a head injury suffered against Wales to renew his centre partnership with Bundee Aki, while captain Johnny Sexton continues at fly-half alongside scrum-half Conor Murray.

Caelan Doris is back in Ireland’s squad following a head injury (Niall Carson/PA)

Experienced wing Keith Earls again has to be content with a place on the bench as Ireland’s back three now has a settled look to it, with Andrew Conway and Jacob Stockdale playing either side of full-back Jordan Larmour.

Rob Herring once again gets the nod over Ronan Kelleher at hooker, with Cian Healy and Tadhg Furlong completing the front row, backed up by locks Iain Henderson and James Ryan.

Openside flanker Josh Van Der Flier, scorer of one of Ireland’s four tries against Wales on February 8, joins Stander and O’Mahony in the back row.

Farrell revealed he has received lessons in “Irishness” from music star Bono.

U2 frontman Bono was a special guest at the team hotel on Tuesday evening.

Farrell said: “We were blown away that he gave his time up to come over to see us. We invited him in and he was top of the wish list and we got the top, which was unbelievable really.

“He’s quite a private person really but he put a lot of time and effort into being able to answer the questions from the floor in a great manner that we got something out of.

“He’s obviously a proud Irishman, so he talked a bit about Irishness.”

Conor Murray was inspired by Bono (Adam Davy/PA)

Murray was also inspired by the visit of the 59-year-old Dublin-born musician, real name Paul Hewson.

“It was just cool to hear him talk about his life experiences and how he views the world and you realise what he’s done outside of music and in terms of charity and the people he’s dealt with politically,” said Murray.

“He’s just a huge personality and it was unbelievable to hear him speak, unbelievably intelligent and well-articulated guy.

“It was just a really cool evening.”

amp_article__390171 : Database Data restored...  : 
last updated article - 2020-02-19 15:12:03:
html db last update - 2020-02-19 15:12:03 :

ex - 7200 : read : read cache amp html

Click here for more stories about Andy Farrell

Click here for more stories about Ireland

Share this article now:
Read more about Andy Farrell Rugby Union
Recommended Next on SM
Premier League Table
TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
1Liverpool1210112481631
2Manchester CityMan City127232217523
3Chelsea126422314922
4Arsenal126422112922
5Brighton & Hove AlbionBrighton126422116522
6Tottenham HotspurSpurs1261527131419
7Nottingham ForestNott'm Forest125431513219
8Aston Villa125431919019
9Newcastle UnitedNewcastle115331311218
10Fulham125341717018
11Brentford125252222017
12Manchester UnitedMan Utd124441313016
13Bournemouth124351617-115
14West Ham UnitedWest Ham113351319-612
15Everton122551017-711
16Leicester CityLeicester122461523-810
17Wolverhampton WanderersWolves122372028-89
18Ipswich TownIpswich121651323-109
19Crystal Palace121561017-78
20Southampton121110924-154
Scroll for more - Tap for full version


Sports Mole provides in-depth previews and predictions for every match from the biggest leagues and competitions in world football.
AL
Sign up for our FREE daily preview newsletter direct to your inbox!

Loading ...

Failed to load data.



. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .