Six Nations: George Ford dropped as England make sweeping changes

Lock Joe Launchbury is among those to pay the price for England's defeat in Paris

Fly-half George Ford has been dropped for Saturday's crunch Six Nations meeting with Grand Slam-chasing Ireland as England make sweeping changes.

Owen Farrell starts at fly-half, with Ben Te'o at inside-centre, while hooker Dylan Hartley returns to lead the side.

Scrum-half Danny Care, lock Joe Launchbury and prop Dan Cole also lose their places in the starting XV.

Richard Wigglesworth, George Kruis and Kyle Sinckler all start as England look to recover from back-to-back defeats.

"It's a one-off selection, we don't need to read more into it," head coach Eddie Jones told BBC Radio 5 live.

"I've made this decision on the fact that this is what we need for this week and this is our best team.

"We feel the line-out is going to be important against Ireland - they've got a very good line-out team with three recognised jumpers.

"Kruis is our best line-out exponent, he's our best caller. Maro [Itoje] has been holding that responsibility throughout the Six Nations - now we've got two guys to do it, which will share the load."

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In addition to the players dropped, England also make two injury-enforced changes.

James Haskell returns on the open-side flank, with Chris Robshaw switching to blind-side in place of the injured Courtney Lawes and Sam Simmonds coming back in at number eight to replace the injured Nathan Hughes.

Exeter's Don Armand is on the bench and is set to win his second cap.

"This is the best back-row available for this game," Jones added. "Robshaw is a great worker, Simmonds is a good young player, with pace and Haskell's got power and experience, so it's a good combination for us.

"It's hard on all the players that have been starting who will now be finishers [replacements] but everyone has a role to play."

Jonathan Joseph regains his place at outside centre, while the back three is unchanged from the defeat in Paris.

Elliot Daly has been declared fit to start after a foot problem, with Anthony Watson continuing at full-back and Mike Brown among the replacements.

Cole, Launchbury, Care and Ford are all also on the bench - along with Jamie George, who makes way for fit-again captain Hartley - as England look to stop Ireland winning just their third Grand Slam in history.

"Ireland are a very good team and they're worthy champions of the Six Nations," said Jones.

"We're very respectful of them but like any team they have a weakness and we've got to be good enough to exploit them. It's for us to find out on Saturday."

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Analysis - Half-backs pay price for lack of direction

Danny Care (right) is England's most capped scrum-half with 80 international appearances, while Ford (left) has won 44 caps since making his debut against Wales in March 2014

Former England fly-half and BBC Radio 5 live analyst Paul Grayson

George Ford and Danny Care pay the price for England's lack of direction when in possession and off the ball. Neither of them can be too disappointed.

Playing in the pivotal game-shaping positions is not just about getting through perfect set-plays and organised phases. It is about dealing with the type of ball you get, feeling the ebb and flow of the game and making decisions accordingly.

It is about finding a way to get a stuttering team to the right areas to at least give yourself a chance and working out how to hurt the opposition.

Significantly in the last two matches Care and Ford, either as individuals or as a partnership, have been unable to do those things.

England team to face Ireland: Watson; May, Joseph, Te'o, Daly; Farrell, Wigglesworth; M Vunipola, Hartley, Sinckler, Itoje, Kruis, Robshaw, Haskell, Simmonds.

Replacements: George, Marler, Cole, Launchbury, Armand, Care, Ford, Brown