Old rivals.

Ireland open up the defence of their Six Nations crown this weekend with an absolute belter of an encounter against rivals England at the Aviva Stadium in Dublin.

The tournament favourites are in good health heading into the game with nearly all of their frontline stars available for selection. But with that comes some big selection calls for head coach Joe Schmidt.

The Ireland boss isn’t expected to tinker too much bar one hugely significant curveball. Robbie Henshaw at fullback. Multiple reports this week suggest he’ll get the nod over Leinster teammate Rob Kearney in an exciting backline.

The other real big decision sees Josh van der Flier likely to get the nod at openside, with Sean O’Brien set to offer cover from the bench.

Possible Ireland XV vs England

15. Robbie Henshaw
14. Keith Earls
13. Garry Ringrose
12. Bundee Aki
11. Jacob Stockdale
10. Johnny Sexton
9. Conor Murray

1. Cian Healy
2. Rory Best (c)
3. Tadhg Furlong
4. Devin Toner
5. James Ryan
6. Peter O’Mahony
7. Josh van der Flier
8. CJ Stander

In terms of the bench we don’t expect anything too left field here. Cronin, Porter, McGrath, Dillane, O’Brien, Cooney and Carbery should all make it with the 23rd man open for discussion. Will Addison could be a good shout given his versatility, but Schmidt also has the likes of Jordan Larmour, Rob Kearney and Andrew Conway to choose from.