Mike Brown must start at full-back for England in the Six Nations because no one else is good enough to take his place, insists Harlequins teammate Nathan Earle.

The 33-year-old has won 72 caps for England but was omitted by head coach Eddie Jones from the matchday 23 for all four of their Autumn Internationals in November.

It was the first time Brown had been dropped by Jones under his reign, although he has since been selected in the 36-man squad ahead of England’s Six Nations opener against Ireland.

And while some have suggested that Brown’s time as an automatic pick for England has been and gone, clubmate Earle believes he is too good to be sitting on the sidelines again.

“I hope Mike Brown gets given an opportunity because he’s a teammate and I think he’s playing amazingly this year,” said Earle, who joined rugby fans in Twickenham to tackle some of the most memorable sporting moments over a cold pint of Greene King IPA ahead of the Six Nations.

“I think he’s also played amazingly for England when given the opportunity and I would love to see him start in the Six Nations - and I would love to see him smash it.

“I think he deserves his opportunity at full-back as he’s the only specialist full-back in the squad. I don’t see how you can pick anyone else in front of him at the moment.

“No one else has played full-back at that level for as long as he has. I wouldn’t want to see anyone else picked in front of him at full-back because I don’t think anyone else is good enough.

“It’s amazing he’s stayed at the top for so long. I think he’s 33 and he’s played about 70 times for England and over 300 times for Quins and he’s still arguably one of our most important players.

“When he plays for England, he’s still one of the most important players for the country as well. He’s an incredible player and an incredible professional, looks after his body incredibly well.

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“He does everything you kind of expect for someone at his level to do. It’s no mean feat that he’s been able to do what he can do and it’s taken an incredible amount of hard work.”

Earle was joined at The George pub in Twickenham by fellow Harlequins teammates Tim Visser and Mat Luamanu to help launch Greene King’s The Last Drop Out promotion.

Customers handed the last pint of the barrel will receive a golden ticket which has a range of prizes within - from a free pint of Greene King IPA to tickets to the Rugby World Cup.

And ahead of England’s opener against last year’s Grand Slam winners Ireland, Earle is confident the ultra-competitive Brown remains the safest pair of hands in a Red Rose shirt.

“He’s probably one of the most competitive guys I know – if not the most competitive – and he’s probably the safest pair of hands in England – potentially in the world,” he said.

“Against Ireland you’d expect a lot of kicks to come from Johnny Sexton and Conor Murray and if it were me playing in that team I’d want Brown fielding those high balls.

“I know 99 per cent of the time he’s going to get those balls and he’s not afraid to stick his head in where it hurts or potentially get hurt on the pitch to try and win.

“That first game is massive for both teams, especially in relation to a potential Grand Slam. They are each other’s bogey team - Ireland have been England’s bogey team the last couple of years.

“A lot of guys will be motivated, especially with Ireland having all the pressure on them coming into the tournaments as favourites so I’m excited to see how the lads do.”

Harlequins stars joined rugby fans to tackle some of the most memorable sporting moments over a cold pint of Greene King IPA. Follow @GreeneKingIPA #TheLastDropOut for more information