Wilson Starts as Ford Joins the Bench

England have selected David Wilson at tighthead prop and named uncapped Bath teammate George Ford on the bench for Saturday’s RBS 6 Nations match against Ireland.

Wilson comes straight into the starting team to fill the void left by Leicester’s Dan Cole, after he suffered a season-ending neck injury last weekend. Head Coach Stuart Lancaster has confirmed that Cole will be rested for three months before being reassessed.

Uncapped Ford joins the replacements bench taking Brad Barritt’s spot.

"We have been forced into one change and we wish Dan Cole all the best for his recovery," Lancaster said.

"However, David Wilson is an experienced international with 31 caps and he showed in his three starts against Argentina last year what he can do.

"It's great to have George involved. He has settled in well and we are confident in his ability should he get his opportunity from the bench."

Wilson has played only 47 minutes of rugby in the last two months with that appearance coming in Bath's 27-23 Aviva Premiership victory over Exeter on Saturday.

The 28-year-old suffered a calf injury during a training game in December and his return was further delayed by a tight back.

With replacement tighthead Henry Thomas deemed unready to start a match of this magnitude, however, Wilson has been drafted straight into the front row where he will lock horns with feared Lions prop Cian Healy.

Lancaster admitted on Monday that England are "not in an ideal situation" and Wilson himself is unsure how long he will last at Twickenham.

Mindful of the lack of depth at tighthead, the selection of George Ford is borne out of the need to also increase the number of options at fly-half.

Should Owen Farrell, who is first choice in the position, suffer an injury, England are short of cover and need to give Ford his Test debut as soon as possible.

Whether that happens against Grand Slam-chasing Ireland depends on events at Twickenham. If the match is close, the 20-year-old rookie is likely to remain on the bench.

Freddie Burns had been the next in line to cover for Farrell once Toby Flood confirmed his end-of-season departure for France, but Ford's superb form for Bath this season has seen him edge ahead.

England, targeting a fourth successive victory over Ireland, will be playing at Twickenham for the first time this year after losing to France in Paris and routing Scotland at Murrayfield.

"We are excited about being back at our home after two games on the road," Lancaster said.

"The Twickenham crowd during the November internationals was superb and I'm sure it'll be the same again on Saturday."

 

England: 15 Mike Brown (Harlequins); 14 Jack Nowell (Exeter Chiefs), 13 Luther Burrell (Northampton Saints), 12 Billy Twelvetrees (Gloucester), 11 Jonny May (Gloucester); 10 Owen Farrell (Saracens), 9 Danny Care (Harlequins); 1 Joe Marler (Harlequins), 2 Dylan Hartley (Northampton Saints), 3 David Wilson (Bath), 4 Joe Launchbury (London Wasps), 5 Courtney Lawes (Northampton Saints), 6 Tom Wood (Northampton Saints), 7 Chris Robshaw (Harlequins, capt), 8 Billy Vunipola (Saracens).

Replacements: 16 Tom Youngs (Leicester Tigers), 17 Mako Vunipola (Saracens), 18 Henry Thomas (Sale Sharks), 19 Dave Attwood (Bath), 20 Ben Morgan (Gloucester), 21 Lee Dickson (Northampton Saints), 22 George Ford (Bath), 23 Alex Goode (Saracens).