
Jamie George will captain England against Wales in their Six Nations opener on Saturday.
George steps in as skipper for Maro Itoje, who is named on the bench.
Itoje missed the first couple of days of England’s pre-tournament training camp in Girona to attend the funeral of his mother, Florence.
England are gradually reintroducing him to the fold, and he will retake the England captaincy whenever he comes onto the field on Saturday.
Elsewhere in the team, Steve Borthwick has partnered Fraser Dingwall and Tommy Freeman in the centres while Henry Arundell has been named on the wing for his first England start since the 2023 Rugby World Cup.
In the rest of the side, it’s a familiar feel to the squad which went four from four in November.
Alex Coles steps into second-row for Itoje while on the bench, Bevan Rodd and Trevor Davison cover the props.
Tom Curry and Henry Pollock are also named on the bench as part of England’s ‘Pom squad’ with Ben Spencer and Marcus Smith also included.
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England:
15 Freddie Steward, 14 Immanuel Feyi-Waboso, 13 Tommy Freeman, 12 Fraser Dingwall, 11 Henry Arundell, 10 George Ford, 9 Alex Mitchell; 1 Ellis Genge, 2 Jamie George, 3 Joe Heyes, 4 Alex Coles, 5 Ollie Chessum, 6 Guy Pepper, 7 Sam Underhill, 8 Ben Earl
Replacements: 16 Luke Cowan-Dickie, 17 Bevan Rodd, 18 Trevor Davison, 19 Maro Itoje, 20 Tom Curry, 21 Henry Pollock, 22 Ben Spencer, 23 Marcus Smith
