Experimentation has been put on hold for Andy Farrell and his Ireland squad as they attempt to gather more momentum in this Guinness Six Nations campaign at the halfway point in the 2026 championship.
A trip to Twickenham to face England is no mission for the faint-hearted, nor a player lacking in experience, and that was reflected in the head coach’s matchday squad unveiled before departure from Dublin on Thursday lunchtime.
Having made six changes from the team beaten comprehensively by France in Paris on the opening night for the round-two home clash with Italy, Farrell has made five more from last Saturday’s hard-fought 20-13 Aviva Stadium victory.
He has both rewarded the impact made by his replacements in changing the course of that contest and packed his team with seasoned campaigners to take on an England team bristling from their Calcutta Cup defeat to Scotland at Murrayfield on the same day.
A 31-20 loss to the auld enemy in Edinburgh was not part of the plan for Steve Borthwick’s team, having targeted a Grand Slam or two as stepping stones to their coronation as 2027 World Cup winners. Just as Ireland copped a smack in the face at Stade de France the previous week, the English were left with bloodied noses, amping up the pressure on both hosts and visitors this Saturday.
Which is why, the Irish boss has recalled a handful of his trusty big guns to deal with all that will challenge his side in this fixture, from a smarting home side to the full house at the RFU’s imposing headquarters.
As impressive as their performances against Italy were on landmark days for Six Nations debutant and starting blindside flanker Cormac Izuchukwu, and first-cap replacement lock Edwin Edogbo, and as important as it was for third-choice tighthead prop Thomas Clarkson to get a Six Nations start at the coalface against an elite scrummaging unit, the smarts and experience of Tadhg Beirne at six and Jack Conan on the bench are preferred alongside the returning Josh van der Flier at openside flanker with captain Caelan Doris reverting from seven to No.8.
And in explaining why the time was right for Tadhg Furlong to return as starting tighthead after a comeback game from a calf injury off the bench against the Italians, Farrell underlined just why those veterans are so valued in such circumstances.
“You’ve heard me say many a time as far as players making the room feel right,” the head coach said. “That experience enables Tadhg to say it as it is and allows people to get over themselves and give the best version of themselves because he’s in the room.
“He’s certainly portrayed that this week and you sense that he’s certainly up for a big game because he knows what’s needed to be able to go to Twickenham and come out with a victory which is always going to be a hard task to do.”
Addressing the five changes, each of the new faces more experienced than the men they have replaced, including both half-backs With Jack Crowley replacing Sam Prendergast at number 10 and Jamison Gibson-Park for Craig Casey at scrum-half, each of the five changes has seen Farrell opt for a more experienced player than the one they replace.
“Obviously with the squad that we’ve got, we’ve been trying to give a chance to grow the squad. We’re giving people different experiences in Paris or even last week with Edwin, but I suppose as a group, game three, Twickenham is trying to learn from Paris, the experience of that, and learn from past experiences from Twickenham as well.
“We’ve won pretty important games there. We’ve also lost there a few times recently. Pretty similar story to a couple of years ago, coming on the back of Scotland beating England and England being told that they had to have a reaction and they did and played some great rugby and won on the bell there.
“Having lads within the group who have been there and felt that and how they can portray that experience down to somebody like a (right wing) Robert Baloucoune is pretty important.” Farrell also made changes to his bench, switching from a six-two split between forwards and backs to a 5:3, Edogbo the forward to miss out as Conan drops from No.8 to covering back-row alongside the ever impressive Nick Timoney.
Yet Prendergast moves from starting fly-half last week to his sofa this weekend as Ireland give game time to Ciaran Frawley, whose ability to cover 10, inside centre and full-back offers a more versatile replacement, even with an additional back alongside himself and Casey in wing Tommy O’Brien.
Asked to summarise his conversation with Prendergast when he delivered the bad news to the 23-year-old who missed two straightforward conversions against Italy and was outshone both off the kicking tee and in driving his team forward by Crowley, Farrell said: “Just where he’s at on his journey and what it is that we need to chase down to make sure that we keep using all these experiences to push the career on.
“You look at every walk of life or anyone who’s successful in business or sport and there’s always learnings there to be addressed, and I suppose the most important thing as far as that’s concerned is honesty to make sure that we’re able to address the right parts of the game… the conversations that I’ve had with Sam this week gives me confidence that that is going to happen.”
J Osborne (Naas/Leinster); R Baloucoune (Enniskillen/Ulster), G Ringrose (UCD/Leinster), S McCloskey (Bangor/Ulster), J Lowe (Leinster); J Crowley (Cork Constitution/Munster), J Gibson-Park (Leinster); J Loughman (Garryowen/Munster), D Sheehan (Lansdowne/Leinster), T Furlong (Clontarf/Leinster); J McCarthy (Dublin University/Leinster), J Ryan (UCD/Leinster); T Beirne (Lansdowne/Munster), J van der Flier (UCD/Leinster), C Doris (St. Mary’s College/Leinster) – captain.
R Kelleher (Lansdowne/Leinster), T O’Toole (Ballynahinch/Ulster), F Bealham (Corinthians/Connacht), N Timoney (Queen’s University/Ulster), J Conan (Old Belvedere/Leinster), C Casey (Shannon/Munster), C Frawley (UCD/Leinster), T O’Brien (Blackrock College/Leinster).
