Courtney Lawes will make his 100th appearance for England this Saturday, as the Northampton Saints star captains his country with teammates Alex Mitchell and Lewis Ludlam also featuring.
The 34-year-old back row – who debuted for England in 2009 – becomes only the fifth men’s player to reach a century of caps for England as Steve Borthwick’s side welcome Fiji to Twickenham on Saturday (26 August, kick-off: 3.15pm).
After last weekend’s 29-10 loss to Ireland, England ring the changes for their side to face Fiji with Borthwick making nine alternations to his starting line-up including naming Mitchell at scrum-half, where the 26-year-old will earn a sixth cap.
There’s also space for Northampton captain Ludlam amongst the replacements, with the back rower set to make his 21st appearance in an England shirt should he enter the action from the bench.
“We are delighted to be back at Twickenham with our home supporters to welcome an in-form Fiji team,” said head coach Borthwick.
“All of the Summer Nations Series Test matches have provided us with an opportunity to continue our preparations for the Rugby World Cup in France. Fiji have proven themselves to be a strong opposition and we look forward to what we expect to be an exciting and challenging game.”
On Lawes, Borthwick commented: “We couldn’t be prouder of Courtney on achieving his incredible milestone after 14 years of excellent performances for his country.
“It has been a privilege to watch his journey and witness him develop into a truly outstanding rugby player.
“Not only is Courtney an exceptional talent and an excellent professional, he is also a brilliant role model for young players every time he steps onto the field.”
Saturday’s Summer Nations Series clash against Fiji will be shown live and exclusively on Amazon Prime Video.
ENGLAND v FIJI
Saturday 26 August 2023
Twickenham Stadium
Kick-off: 3.15pm
15 Freddie Steward (Leicester Tigers, 25 caps)
14 Max Malins (Bristol Bears, 20 caps)
13 Ollie Lawrence (Bath Rugby, 13 caps)
12 Manu Tuilagi (Sale Sharks, 52 caps)
11 Jonny May (Gloucester Rugby, 72 caps)
10 George Ford – vice-captain (Sale Sharks, 84 caps)
9 Alex Mitchell (Northampton Saints, 5 caps)
1 Ellis Genge – vice-captain (Bristol Bears, 51 caps)
2 Theo Dan (Saracens, 2 caps)
3 Dan Cole (Leicester Tigers, 101 caps)
4 Maro Itoje (Saracens, 69 caps)
5 Ollie Chessum (Leicester Tigers, 10 caps)
6 Courtney Lawes – captain (Northampton Saints, 99 caps)
7 Jack Willis (Toulouse, 12 caps)
8 Ben Earl (Saracens, 17 caps)
Replacements:
16 Jack Walker (Harlequins, 3 caps)
17 Joe Marler (Harlequins, 81 caps)
18 Will Stuart (Bath Rugby, 28 caps)
19 David Ribbans (Toulon, 7 caps)
20 Lewis Ludlam (Northampton Saints, 20 caps)
21 Danny Care (Harlequins, 89 caps)
22 Marcus Smith (Harlequins, 23 caps)
23 Joe Marchant (Stade Francais, 18 caps)
Next Home Match
