Sam Prendergast out of matchday squad with Beirne, Osborne and Loughman to start against England
The Kildare out-half has become a hot topic of discussion in Irish rugby circles after recent performances and he will be replaced by jack Crowley in the starting XV
Leinster out-half Sam Prendergast has been left out of the Ireland matchday squad after the Kildare man's recent struggles with Jack Crowley set to start at no. 10 against England. The young man from Suncroft has come in for a lot of criticism recently and it has not been clarified at the time of writing whether Prendergast has picked up a knock or if Ireland coach Andy Farrell has chosen to pull the 23 year-old out of the firing line.
Naas' Jamie Osborne and Athy's Jeremy Loughman will be in from the start alongside Irish veteran Tadhg Beirne. You can see below Andy Farrell's full starting XV for for Saturday's (February 21) Guinness Men’s Six Nations clash against England at Allianz Stadium, Twickenham.
Ireland have won four of their last five meetings with England in the Men’s Six Nations but with one win and one defeat for both teams so far, it is all to play for when these sides meet for the 2:10pm kick-off.
IRELAND: Jamie Osborne; Robert Baloucoune, Garry Ringrose, Stuart McCloskey, James Lowe; Jack Crowley, Jamison Gibson-Park; Jeremy Loughman, Dan Sheehan, Tadhg Furlong; Joe McCarthy, James Ryan; Tadhg Beirne, Josh van der Flier, Caelan Doris (capt).
Replacements: Rónan Kelleher, Tom O’Toole, Finlay Bealham, Nick Timoney, Jack Conan, Craig Casey, Ciaran Frawley, Tommy O’Brien.
ENGLAND: Freddie Steward, Tommy Freeman, Ollie Lawrence, Fraser Dingwall, Henry Arundell; George Ford, Alex Mitchell; Ellis Genge, Luke Cowan-Dickie, Joe Heyes; Maro Itoje (capt), Ollie Chessum; Tom Curry, Ben Earl, Henry Pollock.
Replacements: Jamie George, Bevan Rodd, Trevor Davison, Alex Coles, Guy Pepper, Sam Underhill, Jack van Poortvliet, Marcus Smith.
Looking ahead to Saturday, Andy Farrell said: “Games between the two sides have been nip and tuck over recent times and there’s great familiarity and respect across both camps. We know their strengths and our aim is to deliver the best version of ourselves to put us in a position to get the performance that we want.
“Backed by thousands of travelling Irish supporters who come from all over the world whenever we play in Twickenham, it will be another special occasion and a challenge we’re excited to face.”
The match will be live on RTÉ2 and ITV, with live radio commentary available on RTÉ Radio 1.