Saints star Pollock gets first Test start as England face Ireland
Henry Pollock will start a Test match for England for the first time when they face Ireland at Allianz Stadium on Saturday afternoon (kick-off 2.10pm).
The Saints star, who has appeared from the bench in the opening two Guinness Six Nations matches, will line up at No.8 this weekend.
Tommy Freeman moves from outside centre to wing as Bath’s Ollie Lawrence comes in to partner Fraser Dingwall.
Alex Mitchell keeps his place at scrum-half, while Trevor Davison and Alex Coles are among the replacements.
Manny Iyogun, George Furbank and Fin Smith, who made his return from injury from the bench in the 31-20 loss to Scotland at Scottish Gas Murrayfield last Saturday, are not involved this weekend.
England will be captained by Maro Itoje, who will win his 100th cap, becoming only the ninth men’s player to reach the milestone for England, alongside Ben Youngs (127), Dan Cole (118), Jason Leonard (114), Owen Farrell (112), George Ford (107), Jamie George (107), Courtney Lawes (105) and Danny Care (101).
And England boss Steve Borthwick said: “To reach 100 caps for England is a remarkable achievement and speaks volumes about Maro’s consistency and professionalism over many years.
“He leads through his actions every day, sets the standard for others and cares deeply about representing his country.
"We’re all incredibly proud of what he has achieved, and I know it will be a special day for him and his family.”
On the clash with Ireland, Borthwick added: “We’re expecting a huge contest at Allianz Stadium and we’re excited for it.
“We know the challenge Ireland will bring and we’ve selected a side that we believe has the right balance to meet it.”
England team to face Ireland: 15. Freddie Steward (Leicester Tigers, 43 caps); 14. Tommy Freeman (Saints, 24 caps), 13. Ollie Lawrence (Bath Rugby, 37 caps), 12. Fraser Dingwall (Saints, 9 caps), 11. Henry Arundell (Bath Rugby, 13 caps); 10. George Ford (Sale Sharks, 107 caps) – vice-captain, 9. Alex Mitchell (Saints, 29 caps); 1. Ellis Genge (Bristol Bears, 77 caps) – vice-captain, 2. Luke Cowan-Dickie (Sale Sharks, 55 caps), 3. Joe Heyes (Leicester Tigers, 19 caps); 4. Maro Itoje (Saracens, 99 caps) – captain, 5. Ollie Chessum (Leicester Tigers, 32 caps); 6. Tom Curry (Sale Sharks, 67 caps), 7. Ben Earl (Saracens, 48 caps), 8. Henry Pollock (Saints, 7 caps).
Replacements: 16. Jamie George (Saracens, 107 caps) – vice-captain, 17. Bevan Rodd (Sale Sharks, 12 caps), 18. Trevor Davison (Saints, 5 caps), 19. Alex Coles (Saints, 16 caps), 20. Guy Pepper (Bath Rugby, 9 caps), 21. Sam Underhill (Bath Rugby, 47 caps), 22. Jack van Poortvliet (Leicester Tigers, 21 caps), 23. Marcus Smith (Harlequins, 47 caps).