The Sale Sharks star has not recovered from a neck injury suffered in training at Bath University on Wednesday.

Robinson will be replaced in the starting lineup by uncapped Harlequins wing David Strettle.

England head coach Brian Ashton could have promoted Mathew Tait off the bench, but he has opted to throw 23-year-old Strettle straight in at the deep end.

England are still awaiting a definitive medical bulletin on fly half Jonny Wilkinson, who missed training on Friday due to a tight right hamstring.

Wilkinson is just two games into his international comeback following a succession of injury problems since the 2003 World Cup.

England's record points scorer missed his club Newcastle's Premiership match against Bristol last Sunday because of what the Falcons termed bumps, bruises and stains.

He has scored two-thirds of England's points in this season's championships and his possible absence on Saturday would be a hammer blow for the world champions.

Ashton said: Jonny is being assessed. We will not know about him until later today or tomorrow.

England took the precaution of calling up 35-year-old London Irish back Mike Catt into the squad that arrived in Dublin last night.

If Wilkinson is sidelined, then his 21-year-old Newcastle colleague Toby Flood is likely to start, with Catt going onto the bench.

Strettle, meanwhile, has been handed one of the toughest Test debuts possible as England prepare to tackle the pre-tournament favourites in front of a capacity 83,000 crowd.

He has been a powerful presence in the Harlequins side this season, showcasing his blistering pace with a prolific ability to score tries.

He impressed for England Saxons against Italy A earlier this month, and now gains senior promotion ahead of more experienced players such as Mark Cueto or Ben Cohen.

Robinson, though, will be a significant loss for England. He has already scored three tries in this season's championships, while his defensive qualities were also evident in the contrasting victories over Scotland and Italy.