England: Manu Tuilagi a late withdrawal while Courtney Lawes captains side against Wales

Courtney Lawes has recovered from concussion and will captain England from blindside flanker in their Six Nations clash against Wales.

Manu Tuilagi was also set to return having fought his way back from a hamstring problem but on Thursday evening was ruled out due to injury.

Kyle Sinckler will make his 50th appearance for England and vice-captains Ellis Genge and Luke Cowan-Dickie join him in the front-row.

Maro Itoje and Charlie Ewels are named at lock, while Tom Curry stays at openside flanker and Alex Dombrandt is number eight.

Tuilagi-Slade centre partnership

Marcus Smith is at fly-half and Harry Randall starts at scrum-half. Jack Nowell (left) and Max Malins (right) are at wing and Freddie Steward is at full-back.

Ben Youngs could become England’s most-capped men’s player of all time as he is named on the bench. Youngs equalled Jason Leonard’s record of 114 caps in England’s 33-0 win against Italy. He made his debut in March 2010 against Scotland.

Jamie George, Joe Marler, Will Stuart, Nick Isiekwe, Sam Simmonds, George Ford and Elliot Daly complete the finishers.

“We’ve prepared very well for this game, the squad have really come together on and off the pitch,” said England coach Eddie Jones. “Wales are a good, tough side and Six Nations champions and it will make for an exciting Test match in front of a full Twickenham crowd.

“We’ve got a talented, young, hungry squad who have trained with real intensity this week. We’re ready to go at them and can’t wait to play in front of our supporters again.

“It will also be a special match with two significant milestones for Ben and Kyle. Both have made outstanding contributions to English rugby so far in their careers. We congratulate them and we know there is more to come ahead for them.”

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

Date: Saturday, February 26
Venue: Twickenham Stadium
Kick-off: 16:45 GMT
Referee: Mike Adamson (Scotland)
Assistant Referees: Mathieu Raynal (France), Frank Murphy (Ireland)
TMO: Brian MacNeice (Ireland)

READ MORE: Five storylines to keep an eye out for in Round Three