England v Ireland RBS Six Nations 17 March 2012

ENGLAND today made one change to the starting team for Saturday’s final RBS 6 Nations match against Ireland at Twickenham Stadium.

RBS Six Nations 2012

England v Ireland

17th March - Twickenham - Kick Off 1700 GMT

Hail Glorious St.Patrick, dear saint of our isle..... because the 17th March is his day!  The Shamrock will be worn proudly and the Black Stuff will be flowing at Twickenham on this day.  They will be jigging and making merry long before the match starts but you can bet if the Irish Win, the Twickenham bars will be drank dry that night.

So come on England spoil the party please Ha!  After last week's performance against the French away from home, this fan is full of expectation and hope.   You know you can do it England, just believe!

The weather is set for a touch of rain on Saturday, I do hope that this will not effect the game (slippery ball ) etc., fingers crossed that St. George will be doing battle with the other saint and England will be doing battle on the field with the other mere mortals.

As I say I hope!.... but again a good performance is all I really ask please and that will do the job for me.

David Strettle in Action against Scotland - Picture Empics

David Strettle (Saracens) has recovered from his sternum injury and takes over from Charlie Sharples (Gloucester Rugby) on the left wing, while on the bench Bath Rugby’s Lee Mears comes in for Rob Webber of London Wasps, who injured a shoulder against France.

England Head Coach Stuart Lancaster said: “It seems like yesterday when we got together in Leeds in January and began a new journey for England Rugby. Graham, Andy and myself firmly believe in this group of players and the direction we are going. Saturday is another step on that road and we are looking forward to coming home to a packed Twickenham with its special atmosphere and crowd. Their support has been phenomenal and we hope we can do the whole nation proud again.

"David Strettle has now recovered from his injury and will replace Charlie Sharples, who gained valuable experience in Paris. It's good to have Lee Mears on the bench and he will bring great energy and experience should he get a chance to come on."

England: 15-Ben Foden, 14-Chris Ashton, 13-Manu Tuilagi, 12-Brad Barritt, 11-David Strettle; 10-Owen Farrell, 9-Lee Dickson; 1-Alex Corbisiero, 2-Dylan Hartley, 3-Dan Cole, 4-Mouritz Botha, 5-Geoff Parling, 6-Tom Croft, 7-Chris Robshaw, 8-Ben Morgan

 Replacements: 16-Lee Mears 17-Matt Stevens, 18-Tom Palmer, 19-Phil Dowson, 20-Ben Youngs, 21-Charlie Hodgson, 22-Mike Brown

Ireland  R Kearney; T Bowe, K Earls, G D'Arcy, A Trimble; J Sexton, E Reddan; C Healy, R Best, M Ross; D O'Callaghan, D Ryan; S Ferris, S O'Brien, J Heaslip.

Replacements: S Cronin, T Court, M McCarthy, P O'Mahony, T O'Leary, R O'Gara, F McFadden.