O'Sullivan makes two changes for decider

David Humphreys will start at out-half against England on Sunday as Ireland chase their first Grand Slam success since 1948. England are also bidding for a Six Nations clean sweep at Lansdowne Road, an honour that has eluded them under Clive Woodward.

Ireland coach Eddie O'Sullivan has made two changes to the starting line-up that scraped home against Wales last weekend, with the fit-again Victor Costello and Gary Longwell earning recalls to the pack.

There are also berths on the replacements bench for Munster lock Paul O'Connell and Leinster full-back Girvan Dempsey.

In the most hotly contested decision, Humphreys again gets the nod ahead of Munster's Ronan O'Gara as O'Sullivan keeps faith in the personnel that have brought Ireland to the brink of an historic second Grand Slam.

The Ulster number 10 was replaced late in the game in Cardiff suffering from cramp, paving the way for O'Gara to grab the headlines with a last-gasp drop goal in a thrilling conclusion.

But O'Sullivan has rewarded Humphreys for his displays throughout the championship and the 32-year-old will marshal an unchanged backline.

"We have two top-class players," explained O'Sullivan during this afternoon's team announcement at the CityWest Hotel near Dublin.

"We looked closely at the (Wales) game. David Humphreys had a fine game until he came off with 11 minutes to go. Ronan was heroic in what he did but I think we are sticking with the formplayer."

The only changes were made in the forward division, where Costello and Longwell, who both missed the victory over Wales through injury, are reinstated at the expense of Alan Quinlan and Leo Cullen respectively.

Both returning players were put through their paces in fitness tests during training yesterday and having suffered no ill-affects overnight, were included in the starting XV.

Munster blindside Quinlan reverts to the bench while Cullen drops out of the squad completely with Paul O'Connell securing the vacancy among the replacements.

He is joined there by Girvan Dempsey who has failed to dislodge Geordan Murphy, who is finally fulfilling his potential at full-back. There had been speculation that Murphy would switch to the right-wing to accommodate a fit-again Dempsey but that change failed to materialise.

Instead, London Irish's Justin Bishop holds on to the number 14 jersey despite a largely ineffectual performance in Cardiff. Dempsey's inclusion in the squad spells the end of John Kelly's involvement in the championship.

Ireland: G Murphy (Leicester); J Bishop (London Irish), B O'Driscoll (Leinster, capt), K Maggs (Bath), D Hickie (Leinster); D Humphreys (Ulster), P Stringer (Munster); M Horan (Munster), S Byrne (Leinster), J Hayes (Munster), M O'Kelly (Leinster), G Longwell (Ulster), V Costello (Leinster), K Gleeson (Leinster), A Foley (Munster).

Replacements: F Sheahan (Munster), J Fitzpatrick (Ulster), P O'Connell (Munster), A Quinlan (Munster), G Easterby (Llanelli), R O'Gara (Munster), G Dempsey (Leinster).