Eddie Jones challenges Ireland to ‘deliver a dominant performance’ against England in Autumn Nations Cup

Sign up to our free sport newsletter for all the latest news on everything from cycling to boxing Sign up to our free sport email for all the latest news Sign up to our free sport email for all the latest news SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy policy Eddie Jones has challenged Ireland to “bring a dominant performance to Twickenham” in Saturday’s Autumn Nations Cup showdown that he has described as England’s biggest match of the season. The England head coach made four changes from the 40-0 victory over Georgia a week ago for this weekend’s meeting between the two unbeaten sides in Group A, selecting what he described as “the strongest team possible” in an effort to put one place in the final for the one-off tournament, But after Ireland opened their account with a dominant 32-9 victory over Wales, Jones challenged England’s opponents to produce the same in a match that they have not won in their last three attempts, having suffered defeat to his side in the last two Six Nations encounters as well as the 2019 Rugby World Cup warm-up encounter. “As their coaching staff said, they were dominant, so the challenge is can they bring a dominant Irish performance to Twickenham?” Jones elected to make four changes to his side which all come in the pack, with props Mako Vunipola and Kyle Sinckler returning in the front row and flankers Tom Curry and Sam Underhill recalled in place of Charlie Ewels and Jack Willis, with Maro Itoje returning to lock after an outing in the back row last weekend. The Leicester Tigers half-back only returned to full training on Wednesday, and Jones admitted that throwing him in from the very start would prove too risky given his recent injury setback, meaning Owen Farrell will remain at No 10 with Henry Slade and 21-year-old Ollie Lawrence at centre in only the latter’s third international appearance.