England face Six Nations Grand Slam-chasing Ireland in Dublin on Saturday; Steve Borthwick’s side look to bounce back from a humiliating 53-10 defeat to France at Twickenham; Ollie Lawrence is unavailable against Ireland after the centre sustained a hamstring injury in defeat to France
By PA Sport
Last Updated: 13/03/23 10:42pm
Marcus Smith returned to the England lineup at fly-half for the 53-10 hammering at home to France
Marcus Smith has demanded that England “stand up and fight” in their final Six Nations game against Grand-Slam chasing Ireland in Dublin on Saturday.
Smith views the St Patrick’s Day showdown at the Aviva Stadium on as a “free swing”, on the basis that no one is giving England a chance of the upset after they crashed to a record-breaking 53-10 defeat to France at Twickenham at the weekend.
Another failure against Ireland on Saturday would see England finish with just two wins for a third-successive Six Nations campaign, but Smith insists the team will come out fighting.
Ollie Lawrence suffered a hamstring injury against France on Saturday
“We’re in a tough period at the minute and it’s perfect for us,” the Harlequins fly-half said.
“We’ve got to get better quickly because the challenge doesn’t come much greater than Ireland away in Dublin.
“There’s only one way to go now and that’s to stand up and fight as hard as we can and play as hard as we can for the shirt.
“We’ve spoken about sticking together because there’s going to be a lot of noise and a lot of pr …