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Thank you for joining us and for all of your contributions. We have covered a lot of ground and so here are the top lines from England's team announcement:

• Henry Pollock will make his first Test start, while British and Irish Lion Tom Curry also comes into the starting team.
• Centre Ollie Lawrence returns after missing out on selection for Saturday's defeat by Scotland at Murrayfield.
• Henry Arundell retains his place on the wing after avoiding a ban for his red card against Scotland
• Captain Maro Itoje will win his 100th cap

Full team:

Steward; Freeman, Lawrence, Dingwall, Arundell; Ford, Mitchell; Genge, Cowan-Dickie, Heyes, Itoje, Chessum, T Curry, Earl, Pollock.

Replacements: George, Rodd, Davison, Coles, Pepper, Underhill, Van Poortvliet, M Smith.

The BBC's Rugby Union Weekly podcast is out later and well worth a listen with guests Ollie Lawrence and Steve Borthwick.

The BBC will also have live coverage of England's game against Ireland on BBC Radio 5 Live and on the BBC Sport website.

England head coach Steve Borthwick told the BBC about Ireland: "They have most of the Lions coahcing team, half of the Lions Test team. They play together so often with so many players at Leinster, this squad has been together for a long period of time.

"I chat to our players about the coaches, trying to capture the lessons from [the Lions tour] last summer. About the coaching, players and they speak with such respect about them. It's an exciting Test match and I am sure every England fan is looking forward to it."

England head coach Steve Borthwick has told the BBC on Maro Itoje winning his 100th cap: "First of all he is an incredibly towering presence in English rugby. Talk about icons and superstars of the game, he is tremendous and I am so delighted for him to achieve his 100th cap this weekend."

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Jack van Poortvliet has been included in a matchday squad for the first time in this Six Nations.

The Leicester scrum-half comes in for Ben Spencer among the replacements.

Van Poortvliet has had a torrid time with injuries in recent seasons, including missing the 2023 Rugby World Cup.

He came off the bench to good effect in Argentina last summer, scoring the try that sealed a 2-0 series win, but then missed the autumn - again through injury.

The 24-year-old's most recent Six Nations appearance came as a substitute in the record-breaking win in Cardiff last year, while his most recent cap against Ireland was in the 2023 Six Nations when he started the 29-16 defeat in Dublin.

England head coach Steve Borthwick told the BBC about the time he first met Henry Pollock: "I went up to Northampton to meet the England players there and I was told that I should connect with Henry Pollock and at that time he was barely out of school, he hadn't played a first-team game at that point but clearly with the pathway system they said you should meet Pollock. All the reports from the pathway was that this guy is going to be exceptional.

"Normally when an 18-year-old meets the England head coach for the first time and you don't know each other at all, they are reasonably shy and retired at that point in time. He was the complete opposite.

"He bounded up to me and introduced himself and I think his words were 'how are you mate?' I thought 'this guy is wonderfully different, he is an incredible character'."

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Chris Jones
BBC rugby union correspondent

From Nic in Farnham: Why does Steve B keep naming his team early ? Surely gives Ireland two extra days to prepare specific tactics and run through them in training.

Hi Nic - good question as a lot of teams prefer to name as late as possible in the week (tournament regulations dictate minimum 48 hours before game for internationals, 24 hours for domestic).

But Borthwick will usually tell players on the Monday or Tuesday what the team is, so it makes sense to name it pretty soon after he has done that.

Yes, it may give Ireland an extra steer, but they will internally have already named their team. And there is little chance they would revamp their tactics halfway through the week.

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Guy Pepper and Sam Underhill have both dropped to the bench to face Ireland after the Bath duo had off-days against Scotland.

Underhill was uncharacteristically poor in defence, missing nearly half of his attempted tackles, while Pepper missed three tackles and conceded two penalties.

More will be needed from both on Saturday afternoon when they come on.

Chris Jones
BBC rugby union correspondent

Is there a need to go for a 6-2 bench against Ireland whose pack seems to be short dynamism and punch this tournament? 1 injury at 12 would induce a number of position changes…

Hi Charlie. England have had a lot of success with their 6/2 bench and Borthwick will be wary of throwing the baby out with the bathwater and changing too much after one defeat.

They have lots of depth in the back row so it makes sense to get as many of their loose forwards in the squad as possible. Plus England are putting a lot of stall in certain forwards being able to play in the backs such as Earl and Pollock. But I agree, 6/2 is a risk, and it should be a risk. One card or injury for anyone in the outside backs and you need to reshuffle.

Tom Curry will be coming up against some of his British and Irish Lions team-mates from last summer's tour of Australia.

Curry started all three Tests in the back row alongside Ireland's Tadhg Beirne and Jack Conan.

"I have stayed in touch with James Ryan, we talk a bit, and then Mack Hansen and I only commute by Instagram reels. We have had a few interesting chats," he told BBC Sport.

"James and I chat about life but mostly rugby.

He will also be reunited with Ireland head coach Andy Farrell, who was in charge of the Lions.

"Faz is good. You can see where [former England captain] Owen [Farrell] gets it from. They are very concise with their words," he added.

"Before the first Test in Brisbane he got Tadhg Beirne, Jack Conan and I together and made us aware he picked us as we perform in big games on the big stage.

"It is always an exciting fixture."

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Chris Jones
BBC rugby union correspondent

From Will in London: Thoughts on the swap of Pepper & Underhill to the bench? Seems to be lacking the impact of Pollock/Curry coming on?

Interesting isn't it. England had really dynamic options like Pollock on the bench against Scotland, but the game was pretty much lost before the replacements came on. Meanwhile the backs on the bench were Ben Spencer and Fin Smith who are great at closing games, but when you are 20 points down that is where you could do with someone like Marcus Smith. So as ever Borthwick will be looking for a blend in his whole 23, but you can never quite predict how games will go. All the best laid plans go up in smoke if you get blitzed in the first quarter and are suddenly 0-17 down...

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When Tom Curry made his England debut as an 18-year-old against Argentina in 2017 he became their youngest new cap since someone called Jonny Wilkinson.

In his first eight years with England, just four of his 61 caps came off the bench.

But he has recently reverted to a role as a finisher, with his last six caps dating back to the start of the autumn all coming as a replacement.

That run is now over after he was picked to start for the first time since last year's Six Nations.

Borthwick will be hoping the return of such a seasoned player will help beef up England's breakdown and stop Ireland from enjoying as much quick ball as Scotland managed at Murrayfield.

Is it the right call for Curry to start? Thumbs up for yes, thumbs down if you think he's better as a finisher.

England head coach Steve Borthwick has confirmed to the BBC that Northampton Saints full-back George Furbank is fully fit and available for selection.

He is yet to be called upon in this year's Six Nations.

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A few people have been asking whether George Furbank should be picked to add a second playmaker to England's attack after he was added to the training squad earlier this week.

The Northampton man has endured a tough time with injuries and an up-and-down international career.

After falling out of favour under Eddie Jones, he won a first cap in two years under Borthwick in the 2024 Six Nations and was a regular that year before a fractured arm saw him miss last year's tournament.

As a result, Furbank has not played for England since starting the 59-14 win against Japan in November 2024.

Chris Jones
BBC rugby union correspondent

Is Steve using this Six Nations to test his under used back line? Mixing up centres/scrum-halfs/fly-halfs mostly on the bench to allow for a more versatile/experienced team come the World Cup next year?

Hi Matt. I would be loathe to say Borthwick will be using a tournament as important as the Six Nations to experiment, but you're right, he will be thinking all the time about building depth. All international head coaches are looking to achieve the holy grail of improving the depth of the squad while also winning matches. It is something Rassie Erasmus has been able to do over the last few years and it has stood the Springboks in fantastic stead.

Matthew Hobbs
BBC Sport

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England's attack has generally been on an upward trajectory in the past year, particularly following the arrival of attack coach Lee Blackett.

The mastermind of a Bath backline that scored an unrivalled 102 tries on their way to winning last year's Premiership, Blackett has added verve and variety to England's attack - but that all fell apart in last weekend's calamitous defeat against Scotland at Murrayfield.

On the ropes after Scotland's rapid start, England could not respond sufficiently despite regular visits to the Scottish 22.

England made 12 entries in total to the red zone but returned just 1.42 points per visit - their second-worst tally since Steve Borthwick's first Six Nations as head coach in 2023.

One visit ended up with Scotland scoring seven points as George Ford's rushed drop-goal attempt was charged down in the second half.

Henry Arundell is free to play after avoiding a ban for two yellow cards last weekend but England's attack as a whole has a lot to put right.

England head coach Steve Borthwick has told the BBC about backing Henry Arundell: "He has come back [from France club rugby] because he wants to play for England. He played a little bit in the autumn but been asked to work on key aspects of his game. He has gone away with the backs coach and worked on those aspects.

"Saturday [against Scotland] didn't go the way he wanted it to, the way I wanted it to go for him and he was bitterly disappointed as we all were. Now we back him to go and play super well this weekend.

"I want the ball in his hands. every England supporter will want the ball in his hands in a bit of space this weekend."

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In case you're just joining us, here are the top lines from England's team announcement:

• Henry Pollock will make his first Test start, while British and Irish Lion Tom Curry also comes into the starting team.
• Centre Ollie Lawrence returns after missing out on selection for Saturday's defeat by Scotland at Murrayfield.
• Henry Arundell retains his place on the wing after avoiding a ban for his red card against Scotland
• Captain Maro Itoje will win his 100th cap.

Full team:

Steward; Freeman, Lawrence, Dingwall, Arundell; Ford, Mitchell; Genge, Cowan-Dickie, Heyes, Itoje, Chessum, T Curry, Earl, Pollock.

Replacements: George, Rodd, Davison, Coles, Pepper, Underhill, Van Poortvliet, M Smith.

Chris Jones
BBC rugby union correspondent

From Rob in Singapore: Does Henry Arundell have the highest ceiling of any England player?

I remember speaking to Owen Farrell about Arundell and he said he reminded him of Jason Robinson, high praise from a man not prone to hyperbole. So he has the tools to be a special player but as we know being an international winger requires so many other skills.

Most head coaches will look for a winger to tick three boxes: attack, defence, and aerial game. Arundell has the first one nailed down but will be constantly working on the other two.

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From England debut under Eddie Jones in the 2016 Six Nations to current England captain set to win his 100th cap.

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Chris Jones
BBC rugby union correspondent

Why do you think Arundell has not been dropped by Borthwick after getting a red?

I would say there are two things to consider here Kevin. One is the need for a bit of pace and spark in the back three. Freddie Steward and Tom Roebuck have loads of great parts to their game but neither are blessed with genuine pace.

It's about balance - Steve Borthwick likes to have one aerial winger (Roebuck, Tommy Freeman) and one with a bit of X-factor (Arundell, Manny Feyi-Waboso).

We will speak to Borthwick shortly and ask about George Furbank and if he is fit for selection, as he is someone who provides extra creativity. Also I imagine Borthwick is conscious of denting Arundell's confidence by dropping him after his travails in Edinburgh.