Ireland will head into their Six Nations clash against England next week as strong favourites, with the two sides having shown contrasting form up to this point in the championship.
The English may have won their first two games, but they did not convince along the way against either Italy or Wales. They would then go on to be well beaten by Scotland last weekend.
On the other hand, Ireland secured their third win on the bounce by beating Wales at the Aviva Stadium. They have now won 11 Six Nations fixtures on the trot across three separate campaigns.
With not many onlookers giving the English a chance next week despite the game being at Twickenham, some are already calling for Steve Borthwick to make some drastic changes for the fixture.
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Stuart Barnes suggests mad England team for Irish Six Nations clash
Former England outhalf Stuart Barnes has not been afraid to criticise the team when things have been going poorly in recent years, with this being the case once again during this championship.
When asked by The Times to select his preferred England side for the Six Nations game against Ireland, he made one very odd move.
Ah come on now. There's 11 days to go yet, and how can you improve on this? pic.twitter.com/HieLOnfrDY
— Proper Rugby Kino (@RugbyKino) February 27, 2024
That's right, he moved Ben Earl from his traditional no.8 spot to inside centre... for some reason.
His reasoning was about as sound as you would have imagined:
Anyone else notice who carried the most and most effectively against Scotland? That’s right, it was Ben Earl, again. So I am picking him at inside centre. He can slip back to No 8 for the odd attacking scrum and link up like a back-row forward.
If anyone thinks England don’t need to think radically after the constant failure to ignite under Borthwick, they are condemning England’s fans to dreary wins against weak teams and disappointment against superior sides...
This is a team to give it a go and if it goes wrong, so what? The usual England won’t beat Ireland.
We say make it happen.
If there's anything that will England's Six Nations campaign around, it is playing lads in positions they have never been tested in against the best team in the competition. What could possibly go wrong?
SEE ALSO: Ex-Wales Star Explains Why Loss To Ireland 'Didn't Feel Like An International Match'
