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Maro Itoje one of two changes for England for Calcutta Cup
By Josh Raisey
Captain Maro Itoje will return to the starting XV for England for their Calcutta Cup clash with Scotland on Saturday in round two of the Guinness Six Nations.
The British and Irish Lions skipper was on the bench for the 48-7 victory over Wales in round one, receiving a yellow card within seconds of coming on as a substitute, but will come back into the starting line-up, with Alex Coles taking his place on the bench.
England’s stand-in captain against Wales, Jamie George, has, in turn, dropped down to the bench for the match at Murrayfield, with Luke Cowan-Dickie starting instead. Cowan-Dickie will reform the front-row which started the final match of the Quilter Nations Series against Argentina, alongside Ellis Genge and Joe Heyes.
The only other change Steve Borthwick has made to his squad is on the bench, with Fin Smith replacing Marcus Smith as part of the 6-2 split.
England will head north looking for their first win in Edinburgh since 2020 and to retain the Calcutta Cup for the first time since 2017. They will take on a Scotland that will be desperate to respond to their 18-15 loss to Italy in round one in Rome.
“Playing Scotland at Murrayfield is always a fantastic occasion and a challenge we are relishing,” said Borthwick.
“We made a pleasing start to the Championship, but we understand that we must continue to raise our standards. The squad has trained with focus and determination this week, and we’re excited for the opportunity to test ourselves again on Saturday.”
England XV
15. Freddie Steward (Leicester Tigers, 42 caps)
14. Tom Roebuck (Sale Sharks, 9 caps)
13. Tommy Freeman (Northampton Saints, 23 caps)
12. Fraser Dingwall (Northampton Saints, 8 caps)
11. Henry Arundell (Bath Rugby, 12 caps)
10. George Ford (Sale Sharks, 106 caps) – vice-captain
9. Alex Mitchell (Northampton Saints, 28 caps)
1. Ellis Genge (Bristol Bears, 76 caps) – vice-captain
2. Luke Cowan-Dickie (Sale Sharks, 54 caps)
3. Joe Heyes (Leicester Tigers, 18 caps)
4. Maro Itoje (Saracens, 98 caps) – captain
5. Ollie Chessum (Leicester Tigers, 31 caps)
6. Guy Pepper (Bath Rugby, 8 caps)
7. Sam Underhill (Bath Rugby, 46 caps)
8. Ben Earl (Saracens, 47 caps)
Replacements
16. Jamie George (Saracens, 106 caps) – vice-captain
17. Bevan Rodd (Sale Sharks, 11 caps)
18. Trevor Davison (Northampton Saints, 4 caps)
19. Alex Coles (Northampton Saints, 15 caps)
20. Tom Curry (Sale Sharks, 66 caps)
21. Henry Pollock (Northampton Saints, 6 caps)
22. Ben Spencer (Bath Rugby, 15 caps)
23. Fin Smith (Northampton Saints, 13 caps)
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