Pollock to make first England start against Ireland

LONDON, Feb 17 : Henry Pollock will make his first start for England against Ireland in the Six Nations at Twickenham on Saturday after coach Steve Borthwick named a team showing three changes from the lineup beaten by Scotland last week.

The dynamic 21-year-old Northampton flanker has seven caps from the bench and will start at Number Eight, with Tom Curry also coming into the back row at blindside flanker. Ben Earl moves to openside.

Ollie Lawrence starts at outside centre in place of Tommy Freeman, who moves to the right wing in place of Tom Roebuck. Henry Arundell keeps his place on the wing after being cleared to play following his red card in the 31-20 Murrayfield defeat that ended England's 12-game winning run.

Scrumhalf Jack van Poortvliet and flyhalf/fullback Marcus Smith were named among the replacements on a 6-2 split bench.

Captain Maro Itoje will win his 100th cap, becoming the ninth England player to reach that milestone.

"To reach 100 caps for England is a remarkable achievement and speaks volumes about Maro's consistency and professionalism over many years," Borthwick said in a statement.

"He leads through his actions every day, sets the standard for others and cares deeply about representing his country. We’re all incredibly proud of what he has achieved, and I know it will be a special day for him and his family."

England team to play Ireland:

15–Freddie Steward, 14–Tommy Freeman, 13–Ollie Lawrence, 12–Fraser Dingwall, 11–Henry Arundell, 10–George Ford, 9–Alex Mitchell, 8–Henry Pollock, 7–Ben Earl, 6–Tom Curry, 5–Ollie Chessum, 4–Maro Itoje, 3–Joe Heyes, 2–Luke Cowan-Dickie, 1–Ellis Genge

Replacements:

16–Jamie George, 17–Bevan Rodd, 18–Trevor Davison, 19–Alex Coles, 20–Guy Pepper, 21–Sam Underhill, 22–Jack van