Six Nations 2011: Nick Easter to captain England against Ireland

Nick Easter will captain England in Saturday's grand slam finale against Ireland after Mike Tindall conceded defeat in his race to recover from an ankle problem. The Harlequins No8 led his country in the victory against Samoa in November but Tindall was preferred when England's original captain, Lewis Moody, was injured prior to the Six Nations tournament. Easter was also in charge in the second half of last Sunday's 22-16 victory over Scotland, England's fourth successive win of the the championship. Tindall limped off at half-time with a sore left ankle and has now been officially ruled out of contention for the weekend. Tindall's place is likely to be taken by Bath's Matt Banahan when Martin Johnson announces his side on Thursday lunchtime. Johnson's other option would be to shift Shontayne Hape to No13 and promote Ricky Flutey or even select Jonny Wilkinson and Toby Flood in the same backline. Banahan's recent form, however, has been impressive and he appears the most obvious choice to line up opposite Ireland's captain Brian O'Driscoll. England have not won in Dublin since 2003.