"Key Players Return" - Predicting the England Team to Play Ireland in the 2024 Six Nations

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A mixed-bag of performances hindered England's consistency across the park, as they were handed a 30-21 defeat up in Murrayfield. Now with Gregor Townsend's side in the rear view mirror, England's hopes of setting themselves back on track for an unexpected Six Nations title would be a win against Ireland.

The visitors are certainly the heavy favourites coming into this Round Four fixture, so it's time for Steve Borthwick to batten down the hatches and select his top performers.

England fans were delighted to get the news, that two preferred halfbacks have returned to selection eligibility. After spending time out on the sidelines, Marcus Smith and Alex Mitchell are back in contention for this weekend, and could well feature in the squad to take on Ireland. Borthwick is set to name his match day 23 on Thursday, so we have decided to look into the near future and make our picks for the team to face Ireland.

Right from the off, we have made a change to the starting XV that took on Scotland, with Freddie Steward back in the fold for the Irish test. The Leicester Tigers man was left out of the trip to Murrayfield, despite being fully fit to take on Gregor Townsend's side. This tactical decision left many England fans scratching their heads, and voicing their conflicting opinions on social media. George Furbank started up in Scotland and marked his England return with an impressive try, as the visitors took off with a hot start.

We've retained the adaptable Northampton man to our squad, yet he takes a seat as a back-three replacement, with Steward picked to start. On his day, there are few better than the Leicester fullback under the high ball, and his talents will sure be called upon when Jack Crowley peppers the back-field with an aerial bombardment. We have left the wings unchanged, as the combination of Elliot Daly and Tommy Freeman has steadily emerged as England's leading partnership in the wide channels.

Saracen's resident Swiss army knife, Daly's versatility across the back-three and midfield could well play dividends in the match's latter stages, when heavy Irish hits take a toll on the England men. We back Tommy Freeman to continue his explosive international form, as the Northampton man has established himself as Borthwick's break-through bolter of the campaign. Having missed just three minutes of action so far, we expect another ironman outing from Freeman this Saturday.

Onto the centres, and we expect to see Henry Slade retain his spot in the England starting XV, despite his early withdrawal last time out against Scotland. Slade was not up to his usual standards in Edinburgh, and was replaced by his Exeter teammate Immanuel Feyi-Waboso. The wing's introduction reshuffled the back-line against Scotland, yet we can see Borthwick reverting back to the status quo with Slade once again starting in the 13 jersey.

It was an anti-climactic week for Manu Tuilagi, as he was firmly in the media's focus ahead of the Scotland test squad announcement. Borthwick found no place for the Sale man for the trip North of the border, despite his hotly anticipated return to match fitness. Instead, Ollie Lawrence was selected, yet the Bath centre had an underwhelming outing upon his own return from injury. We believe it is now time for Borthwick to call upon Tuilagi, with the Samoan-born centre eager to neutralise the gain-line threats of Bundee Aki and Robbie Henshaw, and provide an assortment of his own heavy carries.

Moving down into the halfback axis, we expect to see George Ford once again selected for the lead in the fly half spot. The Sale man has been impressive throughout the earlier rounds of the competition, yet like Slade, was withdrawn earlier than anticipated in the battle against Scotland.

Fin Smith ran on for England at the hour mark, in an attempt to lead the line for a comeback. With Marcus Smith back in selection contention, we see no place for Fin in the match day squad, with the Harlequin linchpin taking the number 22 shirt.

After sustaining a knee injury in training a few weeks ago, it was brilliant to hear of Alex Mitchell's inclusion in yesterday's England squad update. The Northampton Saints man has steadily established himself as England's first choice scrum half since the Rugby World Cup, and we predict him to return to the role for the Ireland match. Coupling this selection is the underwhelming performance from Danny Care, who started at scrum half in Mitchell's absence. Unfortunately for Ben Spencer, we predict to see Care back on the bench, and the Bath halfback dropped from the squad.

3. Dan Cole (Leicester Tigers)

Moving on to the forwards now, and we can see Joe Marler once again taking the lead at loose-head prop. Marler is justifiably regarded as England's best scrummager, and is the preferred pick to battle head-on with the talented tight-head Tadhg Furlong. Ellis Genge waits on as the replacement loose-head, for an injection of pace, power and passion to lift the squad in the latter stages.

We see no replacement for Jamie George at hooker, even after the England captain took his first loss as test match skipper in Scotland. The Saracen has settled well into his leadership role, and is eyeing up a historic win over Ireland. The re-shuffled hookers come into play on the bench, as we predict the injury returning Luke Cowan-Dickie to take over duties in the 16 jersey ahead of Theo Dan.

The tight-head spot was a difficult area of contention, as Dan Cole has in actuality been in better form than Will Stuart so far in the Six Nations. Despite defying the sands of time at 36-years-old, Cole won back the starting jersey for the Scotland test and was integral in England's early dominance of the match. Cole and Marler banded together to win scrum penalties, which helped England establish a strong field position in the early goings. We can see Cole once again start on the tight-head, with Will Stuart fit to burst for his 55th minute introduction.

In a move that will surely divide the online England rugby fanbase, the second and back rows are seamlessly interlinked for the rest of this predictions article. Centring around the selection of George Martin, the Leicester Tigers man is equally suited to lock or flanker, and we have picked him to pack down the second row. This sees Martin kick Ollie Chessum out of the engine room, and occupy a seat amongst the replacements.

There is no denying the number five shirt to Itoje, as 'The Pearl' has been in excellent form throughout the 2024 Championships. The Saracen has commanded his troops with great vocality, and has been one of England's top performers in the first three rounds. Itoje's impressive return to top form continues, in what is excitingly becoming the norm once again for the Saracens lock.

Despite George Martin's undeniable impact as a replacement flanker against Scotland, we can see Borthwick returning the Leicester man to lock. This opens up the door on the blindside flank, after Ethan Roots' underwhelming outing in the Calcutta Cup match. Having been knocking on the door for a test match start since his England debut, Chandler Cunningham-South blew it off it's hinges at Murrayfield. Continuously impressive from the replacements, we can see Borthwick giving the Harlequin his first test start this weekend.

This would be a bold statement, but it would certainly reaffirm Borthwick's believe in 20-year-old Cunningham-South. Best suited to the blindside, such a decision would move Sam Underhill over to the open-side flank, with the Bath man an equally accomplished tackler in the seven shirt. Ready to leave his opponents bruised on the deck, England fans were delighted at Underhill's ruthlessness against Wales, after he was shown smiling following a couple of monstrous hits on Keiron Assiratti. Long may this aggression continue for Underhill.

Rounding off our starting XV, Ben Earl remains amongst England's top performers in every outing for the side. The Saracen was brilliant in his last home run-out, as he bagged a try against Wales and led the defensive effort. Distraught after England's defeat in Scotland, we expect another impassioned performance from the number eight, who relishes nothing more than the high stakes matches. They don't come much bigger than Ireland at home, with Earl expectantly chomping at the bit for this Saturday.