Winger Immanuel Feyi-Waboso will start for the first time for England against Ireland on Saturday. Alex Mitchell and George Martin will also return, with coach Steve Borthwick making three changes from the team Scotland beat on Thursday. Cardiff-born Feyi-Waboso, 21, scored a try as a substitute in the 30-21 defeat at Murrayfield two weeks ago and earns his third cap on the right wing, as Tommy Freeman moves to left and Elliot Daly is left on the bench. This is a bold choice for the usually cautious Borthwick, who generally seems to choose his wingers for their ability to defend rather than their try-scoring ability. However, Feyi-Waboso brings a speed threat, and he is exactly the sort of player to thrill the Twickenham fans, something 4-1 underdogs England will desperately need against the title-chasing visitors. He played just 18 matches for Exeter, who he joined when he transferred to study medicine at the city’s university after his former club Wasps went into administration. Last week he had to leave England’s training camp to take a test.
In the event of another defeat, the World Cup semi-finalists, who travel to France next week, are likely to end with two wins out of five for the fourth consecutive season. It is likely that they will remain relatively conservative against an Ireland team which has perfect control of its own attacking patterns and which is formidable on recovery balls. At Murrayfield, the English had committed 25 handballs and conceded 22 turnovers.