England: Elliot Daly at 13 as Tom Curry leads side against Scotland in Six Nations

Adam Kyriacou 03 Feb 2022 2:05 PM

England have named their side to face Scotland in their opening game of the Six Nations, with Elliot Daly starting and Tom Curry skippering the team.

Curry captains England in the absence of Owen Farrell and Courtney Lawes (both injured), with Luke Cowan-Dickie (hooker), Ellis Genge (prop) and Henry Slade (inside centre) named as vice captains for the difficult first-up trip to Murrayfield on Saturday.

International veteran Ben Youngs is at scrum-half with the exciting Marcus Smith outside him at 10 while Saracens’ Daly is a shock pick at outside centre.

Joe Marchant and Max Malins on the wings

Joe Marchant has returned to the line-up after completing Covid isolation protocols at left wing, with Max Malins on the right and Freddie Steward at full-back.

Up front, Kyle Sinckler starts at prop with Maro Itoje and Nick Isiekwe the locks. Lewis Ludlam is blindside flanker and Sam Simmonds is their number eight.

Jamie George, Joe Marler, Will Stuart, Charlie Ewels, Alex Dombrandt, Harry Randall, George Ford and Jack Nowell are the replacements against Scotland.

“As the first game, this match is hugely important to both sides and we will both want to get off to a winning start,” revealed England head coach Eddie Jones.

“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.

“Tom Curry will captain the side for this game and has the respect of the team around him, in Owen and Courtney’s absence. He also has the support of the vice captains and other leaders in the team such as Maro Itoje and Ben Youngs.

“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.”

England: 15 Freddie Steward, 14 Max Malins, 13 Elliot Daly, 12 Henry Slade, 11 Joe Marchant, 10 Marcus Smith, 9 Ben Youngs, 8 Sam Simmonds, 7 Tom Curry (c), 6 Lewis Ludlam, 5 Nick Isiekwe, 4 Maro Itoje, 3 Kyle Sinckler, 2 Luke Cowan-Dickie, 1 Ellis Genge
Replacements: 16 Jamie George, 17 Joe Marler, 18 Will Stuart, 19 Charlie Ewels, 20 Alex Dombrandt, 21 Harry Randall, 22 George Ford, 23 Jack Nowell

Date: Saturday, February 5
Venue: BT Murrayfield
Kick-off: 16:45 GMT
Referee: Ben O’Keeffe (New Zealand)
Assistant Referees: Nic Berry (Australia), Craig Evans (Wales)
TMO: Ben Whitehouse (Wales)