Farrell sticks to winning formula for England clash
Ireland coach Andy Farrell named an unchanged starting lineup for Sunday's Six Nations clash with England to the one that impressed in the 24-14 victory over 2019 Grand Slam winners Wales. Victory for Farrell's side would seal the Triple Crown and keep them on course for a second Grand Slam in three years -- they sealed the 2018 edition by winning at Twickenham. However, Eddie Jones' men have soundly beaten them twice since -- inflicting a rare home defeat last year and then whipping them in a World Cup warm-up at Twickenham. Farrell, who was defence coach under Joe Schmidt for those matches, has begun life as head coach with wins over Scotland and then Wales both in Dublin. The 44-year-old Englishman, who will pit his wits against son and England captain Owen, has been boosted by centre Robbie Henshaw being passed fit after suffering a head injury in the Wales game. Talismanic fly-half and captain Johnny Sexton will be partnered at half-back by Conor Murray for the 59th time. Murray had been under pressure for the starting spot but a sparkling performance against Wales has seen him stave off rival John Cooney's claims for the moment. That is the case also for Murray's Munster team-mate in back-row forward Peter O'Mahony. The 30-year-old had been omitted form the starting side for the Scotland game but came on after five minutes to replace Caelan Doris, who took a knock to the head on his debut. The highly-rated Doris has returned but only on the replacements bench with O'Mahony's sterling two performances earning him the starting spot. Team (15-1) Jordan Larmour; Andrew Conway, Robbie Henshaw, Bundee Aki, Jacob Stockdale; Johnny Sexton (capt), Conor Murray; CJ Stander, Josh van der Flier, Peter O'Mahony; James Ryan, Iain Henderson; Tadhg Furlong, Rob Herring, Cian Healy Replacements: Ronan Kelleher, Dave Kilcoyne, Andrew Porter, Devin Toner, Caelan Doris, John Cooney, Ross Byrne, Keith Earls Coach: Andy Farrell (ENG) Ireland coach Andy Farrell has named an unchanged starting side for the Six Nations match with England where victory would see them seal the Triple Crown
