England welcome back Manu Tuilagi into their starting XV for the first time since June 2014 and head coach Eddie Jones has liked what he has seen in training from the Leicester Tigers powerhouse.
Tuilagi starts at inside centre forming a midfield partnership alongside Henry Slade with England also adding the Vunipola brothers Mako and Billy.
And Jones is excited to see the three players in action on Saturday as England open their Guinness Six Nations campaign against champions Ireland in Dublin.
“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,” said Jones.
“Manu has impressed us at the training camp, and is right to play.”
On the returning Vunipola brothers, he added: “It is nice to have Mako and Billy back. Mako is obviously a world-class loosehead. We missed him during the autumn but he has come back in good nick and really committed to be the best he can be.
“With Billy, we haven’t had him for a long time. He’s also in great nick and ready to play well for us.”
Having been in the crowd in Dublin for England’s last win in Ireland in 2013, scrum half Dan Robson returns to the Aviva Stadium on Saturday named as a finisher for the game and Jones says the Wasps man has earned his selection.
“He’s done well in club rugby for a long period of time and he’s come into the squad and fitted in well,” he added. “He is communicating well with the players and really deserves his opportunity.”
Eddie Jones has named his side to face Ireland in the Dublin this weekend.
Irish coach Joe Schmidt is due to name his side at 13.45.
The match Kick Offs in Dublin at 16.45 on Saturday 2nd Feb and will be shown live on ITV.
