Club captain Lewis Ludlam has been named in Eddie Jones' first team of the Guinness Six Nations, with the Northampton Saints skipper starting as England begin their tournament against Scotland on Saturday (5 February, kick-off: 4.45pm).
Ludlam will start the Calcutta Cup clash at blind-side flanker in Edinburgh looking to add to his 10 England caps to date, with the match being show live on BBC 1 on Saturday.
Head coach Jones said: “As the first game, this match is hugely important to both sides and we will both want to get off to a winning start.
“We have a good, young team but we understand the task ahead and we’ll be ready to go after it from the first kick.
“We have prepared really well for this game. We’ve had a number of obstacles thrown at us, but we’ve overcome them as a more together group and we’re looking forward to getting started.”
SCOTLAND vs ENGLAND
2022 Guinness Six Nations
Saturday 5 February, 2022
Murrayfield, Edinburgh
Kick-off: 4.45pm
15 Freddie Steward (Leicester Tigers, 5 caps)
14 Max Malins (Saracens, 10 caps)
13 Elliot Daly (Saracens, 52 caps)
12 Henry Slade (Exeter Chiefs, 43 caps)
11 Joe Marchant (Harlequins, 7 caps)
10 Marcus Smith (Harlequins, 5 caps)
9 Ben Youngs (Leicester Tigers, 112 caps)
1 Ellis Genge (Leicester Tigers, 31 caps)
2 Luke Cowan-Dickie (Exeter Chiefs, 31 caps)
3 Kyle Sinckler (Bristol Bears, 47 caps)
4 Maro Itoje (Saracens, 51 caps)
5 Nick Isiekwe (Saracens, 3 caps)
6 Lewis Ludlam (Northampton Saints, 10 caps)
7 Tom Curry (Sale Sharks, 36 caps) (C)
8 Sam Simmonds (Exeter Chiefs, 9 caps)
Replacements:
16 Jamie George (Saracens, 61 caps)
17 Joe Marler (Harlequins, 74 caps)
18 Will Stuart (Bath Rugby, 15 caps)
19 Charlie Ewels (Bath Rugby, 26 caps)
20 Alex Dombrandt (Harlequins, 4 caps)
21 Harry Randall (Bristol Bears, 2 caps)
22 George Ford (Leicester Tigers, 77 caps)
23 Jack Nowell (Exeter Chiefs, 34 caps)
