Ben Te’o to start for England against Italy

England head coach Eddie Jones has named his matchday squad for their Six Nations opener against Italy in Rome on Sunday.

Ben Te’o will partner Owen Farrell in the centres after nearly a year’s absence from the England side. Dylan Hartley captains an experienced side with 689 caps across the starting XV in what will be his 90th Test for England.

Sam Simmonds starts at number eight for his fourth cap while fellow club mate Alec Hepburn could make his England debut having been named as a finisher.

Ben Youngs will start his 56th Test match overtaking Matt Dawson’s record of most starts for an England halfback while Danny Care will equal Dawson for most caps as scrum half (77) if the finisher plays a role in the match.

“I have selected the strongest available side to play Italy this weekend and the players are excited to play in Rome,” said Jones.

“Our preparation over the last two weeks has been excellent and the players feel refreshed. We want to start the tournament well and are ready to go hunting against Italy.

“We know we need to get our set piece right, be defensively strong and play with aggression and plenty of energy.”

“England are looking to make history by defending their NatWest 6 Nations title for a third consecutive year.”

England: 15 Mike Brown, 14 Anthony Watson, 13 Ben Te’o, 12 Owen Farrell, 11 Jonny May, 10 George Ford, 9 Ben Youngs, 8 Sam Simmonds, 7 Chris Robshaw, 6 Courtney Lawes, 5 Maro Itoje, 4 Joe Launchbury, 3 Dan Cole, 2 Dylan Hartley (c), 1 Mako Vunipola
Replacements: 16 Jamie George, 17 Alec Hepburn, 18 Harry Williams, 19 George Kruis, 20 Sam Underhill, 21 Danny Care, 22 Jonathan Joseph, 23 Jack Nowell

Date: Sunday, February 4
Venue: Stadio Olimpico, Rome
Kick-off: 15:00 GMT
Referee: Mathieu Raynal (France)
Assistant referees: Jérôme Garcès (France), Nic Berry (Australia)
TMO: Glenn Newman (New Zealand)