Van der Flier and McCloskey to make debuts against England

Leinster’s Josh Van der Flier and Ulster’s Stuart McCloskey will earn their first caps on Saturday evening as they make their debuts against England in the RBS 6 Nations. Flanker Van der Flier replaces injured club mate Sean O’Brien while center McCloskey replaces Jared Payne who has not recovered sufficiently from a hamstring injury.

Mike Ross returns to the squad while Donnacha Ryan replaces the injured Mike McCarthy. Kieth Earls has recovered from a concussion sustained in the tournament opener against Wales. The Munster man replaces Dave Kearney who was ruled out of the competition last week due to a shoulder injury he picked up in the defeat to France.

Ultan Dillane has won a place on the replacement bench and the Connacht man could make his debut on Saturday should coach Joe Schmidt call on him

The starting 15 and bench can be viewed below:

Ireland will look to pick up their first victory of the tournament on Saturday as they travel to Twickenham to face an English side who have won their opening two fixtures. The match kicks off at 4:50 and is sure to be an epic encounter.