Manu Tuilagi will make his first starting appearance for England since June 2014 after being named in the team to face Ireland this weekend.
England head coach Eddie Jones has selected Tuilagi in the No12 shirt, while Leicester Tigers winger Jonny May and Ben Youngs are also in the backline. Ellis Genge and George Ford are also included in the matchday squad.
England kick off the Guinness Six Nations campaign in Dublin on Saturday. Kick-off is at 4.45pm. You can follow all the action at the Tigers’ Sports Bar in Final Whistle. Click here for more details and to book a place.
Owen Farrell will captain the team from fly-half, while brothers Mako and Billy Vunipola play for England for the first time this season. Back-rowers Tom Curry and Mark Wilson make their Six Nations debuts. Uncapped scrum-half Dan Robson is among the replacements.
Jones said: “I think it is quite clear to beat Ireland you have to beat them in the contest area. They are very good at the breakdown and in the air. Both those areas are a priority for us.
“Traditionally England and Ireland games are always very close, they are tough affairs, there is a lot of emotion in the games so our ability to finish the game strongly is going to be vital.
“It is well documented no one thinks we can win but I can tell you everyone inside our camp believes we can win. We are hugely looking forward to the weekend.”
On selecting Tuilagi, Jones added: “I just felt for this game the best option was to play Owen Farrell at 10 and Manu as a like-for-like replacement for Ben Te’o. Manu has impressed us at the training camp, and is right to play.”
England (v Ireland, Dublin, Saturday 4.45pm)
15 Elliot Daly (Wasps, 25 caps)
14 Jonny May (Leicester Tigers, 40 caps)
13 Henry Slade (Exeter Chiefs, 17 caps)
12 Manu Tuilagi (Leicester Tigers, 27 caps)
11 Jack Nowell (Exeter Chiefs, 29 caps)
10 Owen Farrell (Saracens, 65 caps)
9 Ben Youngs (Leicester Tigers, 80 caps)
1 Mako Vunipola (Saracens, 51 caps)
2 Jamie George (Saracens, 32 caps)
3 Kyle Sinckler (Harlequins, 17 caps)
4 Maro Itoje (Saracens, 26 caps)
5 George Kruis (Saracens, 27 caps)
6 Mark Wilson (Newcastle Falcons, 8 caps)
7 Tom Curry (Sale Sharks, 5 caps)
8 Billy Vunipola (Saracens, 36 caps)
Finishers
16 Luke Cowan-Dickie (Exeter Chiefs, 7 caps)
17 Ellis Genge (Leicester Tigers, 5 caps)
18 Harry Williams (Exeter Chiefs, 15 caps)
19 Courtney Lawes (Northampton Saints, 68 caps)
20 Nathan Hughes (Wasps, 18 caps)
21 Dan Robson (Wasps, uncapped)
22 George Ford (Leicester Tigers, 51 caps)
23 Chris Ashton (Sale Sharks, 42 caps)
Ireland: 15 Robbie Henshaw (Leinster/Buccaneers) 36 caps, 14 Keith Earls (Young Munster/Munster) 72, 13 Garry Ringrose (UCD/Leinster) 17, 12 Bundee Aki (Galwegians/Connacht) 12, 11 Jacob Stockdale (Lurgan/Ulster) 14, 10 Jonathan Sexton (St Mary's College/Leinster) 78, 9Conor Murray (Munster/Garryowen) 67; 1 Cian Healy (Clontarf/Leinster) 84, 2 Rory Best (Banbridge/Ulster) 113 (c), 3 Tadhg Furlong (Clontarf/Leinster) 28, 4 Devin Toner (Lansdowne/Leinster) 63, 5 James Ryan (UCD/Leinster) 13, 6 Peter O'Mahony (Cork Constitution/Munster) 52, 7 Josh van der Flier (Leinster/UCD) 13, 8 CJ Stander (Shannon/Munster) 28
Replacements: 16 Sean Cronin (St. Mary's College/Leinster) 65, 17 Dave Kilcoyne (Munster/UL Bohemians) 24, 18 Andrew Porter (UCD/Leinster) 11, 19 Quinn Roux (Galwegians/Connacht) 8, 20 Sean O’Brien (Leinster/UCD) 52, 21 John Cooney (Ulster/Terenure College) 4, 22 Joey Carbery (Clontarf/Munster) 16 , 23 Jordan Larmour (St Mary's College/Leinster) 9
