Steve Borthwick has made changes after the loss v Scotland. Alex Mitchell returns from injury and there’s a first full start for Immanuel Feyi-Waboso in the backs; while the retention of Furbank at fullback suggests the more nuanced approach taken in the good bits in Edinburgh is to be continued. In the forwards, Ollie Chessum moves to blindside to accommodate the return of his Leicester team-mate George Martin to the second row.

The only notable alteration for Ireland is the return of Hugo Keenan to the fullback position following a brief time out due to injury. Apart from that, the starting lineup remains unchanged and is expected to stay that way for the foreseeable future.

Reworded: On the team for England are George Furbank, Immanuel Feyi-Waboso, Henry Slade, Ollie Lawrence, Tommy Freeman, George Ford, Alex Mitchell, Ellis Genge, Jamie George, Dan Cole, Maro Itoje, George Martin, Ollie Chessum, Sam Underhill, and Ben Earl.

The following players have been added to the team: Theo Dan, Joe Marler, Will Stuart, Chandler Cunningham-South, Alex Dombrandt, Danny Care, Marcus Smith, and Elliot Daly.

Ireland: Hugo Keenan; Calvin Nash, Robbie Henshaw, Bundee Aki, James Lowe; Jack Crowley, Jamison Gibson-Park; Andrew Porter, Dan Sheehan, Tadhg Furlong, Joe McCarthy, Tadhg Beirne, Peter O’Mahony, Josh van der Flier, Caelan Doris.

Substitutes: Ronan Kelleher, Cian Healy, Finlay Bealham, Iain Henderson, Ryan Baird, Jack Conan, Conor Murray, and Ciaran Frawley will be returning to the team.

Remember back to the end of winter in the beginning months of 2019. Only a select group of individuals in particular roles were aware of the acronym PPE, the Patriots were dominating in SuperBowls, and Joe Schmidt’s Irish team was predicted to lose to Eddie Jones’s English team. This was the consensus among supposed experts leading up to the game, but England quickly proved them wrong with an intense 10-minute period of play that left the Irish team reeling and unable to bounce back. The final score was a decisive 32-20 victory for England, who managed to achieve this feat in Dublin.

Reworded:

With today’s game being held at Twickenham, and the home team proving they can triumph against all odds while away, there is a glimmer of hope for a repeat performance today. However, hope can also be a double-edged sword.

Clear your mind of these romantic notions. Under Andy Farrell’s leadership, Ireland does not prioritize romance. Unless you consider being systematically belittled in every aspect of your performance as romantic, with the end result being slumping back in your seat to drink an energy drink with empty eyes.

I am aware that this may provoke multiple “this aged well” posts from uninteresting individuals on the internet in a few hours. It is a risk that I am willing to take, even though I typically avoid risk.