Ireland Grand Slam hopes majorly dented after seeing form of England call-up
The bizarre combination of a record loss to France last Saturday, an ankle injury to Ollie Chessum and a hopeless ‘last throw of the dice’ mentality in England means 21-year-old Leicester Tigers flanker George Martin could earn his second cap this weekend against Grand Slam chasing Ireland.
The flanker/lock has come in as a like for like replacement for his Leicester teammate Chessum, but it is yet to be seen as to whether he will feature for England at the Aviva Stadium, let alone whether he will play in the second row or back row. Having said that, the large number of locks present in the 30-man squad suggests he could be used as a flanker.
Martin will bring some form into the squad though, having played a brutal cameo from the bench at Kingsholm against Gloucester on Sunday. Entering the action early in the second half with the scores still at 0-0, the one-cap international made an immediate impact with a beastly run before Leicester pulled away to win 26-5.
Take a look:
Martin made his debut in this fixture two years ago as a 19-year-old under Eddie Jones. England were not in a great position then, but it has got a lot worse.
ENGLAND SQUAD
FORWARDS
Dan Cole (Leicester Tigers, 99 caps)
Ben Curry (Sale Sharks, 4 caps)
Alex Dombrandt (Harlequins, 13 caps)
Tom Dunn (Bath Rugby, 3 caps)
Ellis Genge (Bristol Bears, 47 caps)
Jamie George (Saracens, 76 caps)
Jonny Hill (Sale Sharks, 19 caps)
Nick Isiekwe (Saracens, 10 caps)
Maro Itoje (Saracens, 66 caps)
Lewis Ludlam (Northampton Saints, 18 caps)
George Martin (Leicester Tigers, 1 cap)
David Ribbans (Northampton Saints, 4 caps)
Bevan Rodd (Sale Sharks, 2 caps)
Kyle Sinckler (Bristol Bears, 60 caps)
Mako Vunipola (Saracens, 78 caps)
Jack Walker (Harlequins, 3 caps)
Jack Willis (Toulouse, 9 caps)
BACKS
Henry Arundell (London Irish, 6 caps)
Owen Farrell (Saracens, 105 caps)
George Ford (Sale Sharks, 81 caps)
Ollie Hassell-Collins (London Irish, 2 caps)
Max Malins (Saracens, 18 caps)
Joe Marchant (Harlequins, 14 caps)
Alex Mitchell (Northampton Saints, 4 caps)
Henry Slade (Exeter Chiefs, 55 caps)
Marcus Smith (Harlequins, 21 caps)
Freddie Steward (Leicester Tigers, 21 caps)
Manu Tuilagi (Sale Sharks, 50 caps)
Jack van Poortvliet (Leicester Tigers, 11 caps)
Anthony Watson (Leicester Tigers, 54 caps)
