Elliot Daly will make his first England start at outside centre for almost five years after Henry Slade was ruled out of Saturday’s Guinness Six Nations clash with Ireland due to a calf injury.
Daly last appeared in the 13 jersey against South Africa in 2015 and one round after being ousted at full-back by Max Malins, the versatile Lions back is restored to the starting XV.
Arriving as a second-half replacement in the 23-20 victory over France, Daly made an impact with two eye-catching runs to rebuild confidence after a drop in form.
Slade was injured in training on Monday and despite England’s optimism that he would be fit for the climax to the Six Nations, he has failed to recover in time.
Daly’s return is the only change to the team that ended France’s Grand Slam march at Twickenham last Saturday.
