 Doran-Jones toured with the England senior side last summer |
England Saxons have made three changes from the side that beat Italy A for the game with Irish Wolfhounds on Friday. Prop Paul Doran-Jones, scrum-half Joe Simpson and full-back Nick Abendanon come in for Joe Marler, Richard Wigglesworth and Mike Brown in Belfast. "We go into the game with confidence but also wary of what Ireland will bring," said coach Stuart Lancaster. "Ireland is a significantly different challenge [to Italy] and there are plenty of areas we need to improve." Doran-Jones and Simpson are both members of the England Elite Player Squad, and have been training with the senior squad in Portugal. "We've got one or two boys who have come back to us from Portugal where Martin Johnson and the senior coaches were keen to have a look at them," said Lancaster. "The boys who have come down have all been involved before and know the environment well. "We're away from home and Ireland will be on the rebound from their defeat against Scotland A as well as looking to avenge their defeat at The Rec against us last year. So it's about stepping up our intensity and focus this week."
England Saxons: N Abendanon (Bath); J Simpson-Daniel (Gloucester), M Tuilagi (Leicester), W Twelvetrees (Leicester), U Monye (Harlequins); S Myler (Northampton), J Simpson (Wasps); A Corbisiero (London Irish), L Mears (Bath), P Doran-Jones (Gloucester), G Kitchener (Worcester), C Day (Northampton), J Gaskell (Sale), C Robshaw (Harlequins, capt), L Narraway (Gloucester). Replacements: J Buckland (London Irish), J Marler (Harlequins), G Robson (Harlequins), A Saull (Saracens), P Hodgson (London Irish), B Barritt (Saracens), M Brown (Harlequins).
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