England get captain boost for Scotland showdown
TEAM ANNOUNCEMENT: England head coach Steve Borthwick has named his team to play Scotland for the Calcutta Cup at Murrayfield Stadium on Saturday, February 14.
Saturday’s fixture will be the 144th meeting between the two sides, a rivalry that dates back to 1871.
There are two changes to the starting XV which defeated Wales 48-7 in the opening round of the Six Nations Championship, with Maro Itoje and Luke Cowan-Dickie coming into the side.
Itoje returns to captain the team.
Elsewhere, Fin Smith is included among the replacements on a 6-2 split bench.
“Playing Scotland at Murrayfield is always a fantastic occasion and a challenge we are relishing,” said Borthwick.
“We made a pleasing start to the Championship, but we understand that we must continue to raise our standards. The squad has trained with focus and determination this week, and we’re excited for the opportunity to test ourselves again on Saturday.”
England: 15 Freddie Steward, 14 Tom Roebuck, 13 Tommy Freeman, 12 Fraser Dingwall, 11 Henry Arundell, 10 George Ford, 9 Alex Mitchell, 8 Ben Earl, 7 Sam Underhill, 6 Guy Pepper, 5 Ollie Chessum, 4 Maro Itoje, 3 Joe Heyes, 2 Luke Cowan-Dickie, 1 Ellis Genge.
Replacements: 16 Jamie George, 17 Bevan Rodd, 18 Trevor Davison, 19 Alex Coles, 20 Tom Curry, 21 Henry Pollock, 22 Ben Spencer, 23 Fin Smith
Date: Saturday, February 14
Venue: Murrayfield Stadium, Edinburgh
Kick-off: 16.40 (16.40 GMT)
Referee: Nika Amashukeli (Georgie)
Assistant Referees: Andrea Piardi (Italy) & Gianluca Gnecchi (Italy)
TMO: Marius van der Westhuizen (South Africa)
