England boss Steve Borthwick will have to once again reshuffle his midfield options as he prepares his side to face Dublin in the final round of the Six Nations on Saturday.
Ollie Lawrence has been ruled out with a hamstring injury meaning Borthwick will have to decide between the two contrasting styles of Owen Farrell and Manu Tuilagi as he looks to avenge the hammering his side received at home to France on Saturday.
Tuilagi was one of the first casulaties of the Borthwick reign when he was dropped before the Scotland defeat on Matchday 1. He could though feature against Ireland given England's lack of power against the French, something Tuilagi has in abundance. Despite his dropping and a recent suspension he has remained with his teammates who'm he is believed to be hugely popular with.
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After the humiliating defeat to France the England boss said, "What was clear is there is no doubt in the contact area, both in attack and in defence, their power told.
“Our ability to win the gainline and generate quick ball in attack was very limited and our ability to stop them on the gainline, in defence, and not allow them to offload was also not of the standard we needed to be. We’ll have to look at what we could do differently.”
Owen Farrell is another option for Borthwick after coming off the bench against France. England's only try of the afternoon occurred shortly after but in the face of fierce French fire and in poor conditions he struggled to make too much of an impact. The man who replaced him in the starting 15, Marcus Smith, may play alongside Farrell despite Borthwick's reluctance to utilise the pair together.
Sale fly-half George Ford is also in the squad after playing 80 minutes for his club side at the weekend. There may be a temptation on part of the England boss to reunite Ford and Farrell in a combination not seen for the last two years. Guy Porter and Joe Marchant are also potential options.
Will Collier, who plays tighthead prop for Harlequins, is in the squad despite having not won an England cap since 2017. He is likely to add depth to a position where England are lacking options.
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