Owen Farrell left out of England squad as George Ford gets 10 jersey against Ireland

Adam Kyriacou 17 Aug 2023 4:11 PM

England have named George Ford at fly-half for their Rugby World Cup warm-up match against Ireland after a week that’s been dominated by Owen Farrell.

Farrell has been left out of the XV after World Rugby intervened in Six Nations Rugby’s decision to rescind the red card he picked up against Wales last week.

That means Ford comes into the team at number 10, while Courtney Lawes will captain the side for the match at the Aviva Stadium in Dublin against the Irish.

Lawes leads as six changes made

Lawes leads an England side with six changes to the starting XV that defeated Wales 19-17 at Twickenham. Ford and Ellis Genge are named as vice-captains.

In the front-row, loosehead prop Genge is one of two changes to the forwards as he packs down alongside Will Stuart (tighthead) and Jamie George (hooker).

David Ribbans is back in the England side, having successfully completed his return to play protocol and partners Maro Itoje in the second-row this weekend.

Elsewhere, an unchanged back-row sees Lawes continue at blindside with last weekend’s player of the match Ben Earl at openside and Billy Vunipola at eight.

Ben Youngs and Ford are named as the half-backs by head coach Steve Borthwick in what will be the 61st time the pair have started a Test match together.

In midfield, Manu Tuilagi starts his first match of the Summer Nations Series at inside centre, partnering the versatile Joe Marchant, who starts outside him.

In the back three, Anthony Watson is named on the right wing, with Elliot Daly on the left and Freddie Steward once again at full-back for Borthwick’s outfit.

Amongst the replacements, Ollie Chessum is back in an England shirt for the first time since the Six Nations, having recovered from an ankle injury. Elsewhere Theo Dan, Joe Marler, Kyle Sinckler, Jack Willis, Danny Care, Marcus Smith and Ollie Lawrence will all be hoping to join the action at some stage in the game.

“It is a great challenge against the number one ranked team in the world, and we are all excited for this fixture,” said Borthwick ahead of the Dublin fixture.

“The game will be excellent preparation for us ahead of the Rugby World Cup.”

Commenting on Farrell’s omission from the matchday 23, Borthwick said: “In my original planning for the Summer Nations Series and as part of our Rugby World Cup preparation, Owen Farrell was due to be selected to play in this Saturday’s Test match in Dublin.

✖️ Owen Farrell.
✅ Manu Tuilagi.

🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿Courtney Lawes will captain England against Ireland on Saturday. #IREvENG pic.twitter.com/kAVhW4tmfD

— Planet Rugby (@PlanetRugby) August 17, 2023

“However, in light of the fact that so much of Owen’s training and match preparation time this week has been significantly affected and interrupted by the disciplinary process, I have not selected him in the matchday 23. Owen will travel to Ireland with our full support.

“Owen understands the situation, but is of course disappointed, as I am, that he is missing such a special game that he would otherwise have played in.”

England line-up to face Ireland

England: 15 Freddie Steward, 14 Anthony Watson, 13 Joe Marchant, 12 Manu Tuilagi, 11 Elliot Daly, 10 George Ford, 9 Ben Youngs, 8 Billy Vunipola, 7 Ben Earl, 6 Courtney Lawes (c), 5 David Ribbans, 4 Maro Itoje, 3 Will Stuart, 2 Jamie George, 1 Ellis Genge,
Replacements: 16 Theo Dan, 17 Joe Marler, 18 Kyle Sinckler, 19 Ollie Chessum, 20 Jack Willis, 21 Danny Care, 22 Marcus Smith, 23 Ollie Lawrence

Date: Saturday, August 19
Venue: Aviva Stadium, Dublin
Kick-off: 17:30 BST (16:30 GMT)
Referee: Paul Williams (New Zealand)
Assistant Referees: Craig Evans (Wales), Adam Jones (Wales)
TMO: Ben Whitehouse (Wales)