England have made four changes for their final Six Nations match against Wales with Marcus Smith recalled, and starts for Luke Cowan-Dickie, Tom Roebuck and Ben Curry.
Elsewhere, Tommy Freeman moves to outside centre in place of the injured Ollie Lawrence while Henry Pollock is in line to make his debut from the bench.
England head into the match on Saturday with a slim chance of winning the Six Nations. They require Scotland to beat France in Paris, and to also see off a resurgent Wales in Cardiff.
Steve Borthwick has opted to reshuffle the team for Saturday’s match with four changes and three positional shifts.
Lawrence misses out with an Achilles injury and his absence sees Borthwick move the backs around. Marcus Smith is recalled at fullback after starting on the bench for their win over Italy, while Roebuck and Elliot Daly start on the wings.
Daly was at No.15 for Italy, but moved into the centres when Lawrence was injured, and he’s now on the left wing for Wales. Roebuck will win his fourth cap on the right wing.
Their inclusion means Borthwick has shifted Freeman to No.13 as Lawrence’s replacement. He lines up with Fraser Dingwall in the centres but that means Ollie Sleightholme — who scored twice against Italy — drops out of the matchday squad.
In the pack, Cowan-Dickie replaces Jamie George at hooker and Ben Curry comes in for Tom Willis in the back-row.
On the bench, George Ford is recalled while Pollock, the Northampton Saints back-row, could make his Test debut if given the nod.
“We’re excited to face Wales at the Principality Stadium this weekend, one of the most iconic venues in rugby,” Borthwick said. “The atmosphere will be electric, and we know we’ll need to be at our very best to get the result we’re aiming for.”
England XV vs. Wales:
Ellis Genge, Luke Cowan-Dickie, Will Stuart, Maro Itoje, Ollie Chessum, Tom Curry, Ben Curry, Ben Earl, Alex Mitchell, Fin Smith, Elliot Daly, Fraser Dingwall, Tommy Freeman, Tom Roebuck, Marcus Smith.
Replacements:
Jamie George, Fin Baxter, Joe Heyes, Chandler Cunningham-South, Henry Pollock, Tom Willis, Jack van Poortvliet, George Ford.
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