England begin their 2022 Six Nations campaign away to Scotland at Murrayfield on Saturday (4.45pm kick off); Tom Curry, 23, becomes youngest England captain since Will Carling in 1988, with Owen Farrell (ankle) and Courtney Lawes (concussion) out through injury
Thursday 3 February 2022 16:59, UK
Tom Curry will captain England for the first time in his career, while Elliot Daly, Sam Simmonds and Nick Isiekwe will start in Saturday's Six Nations clash with Scotland at Murrayfield.
In doing so, Curry, at 23 years old, becomes the youngest England captain since Will Carling in 1988, with experienced duo Owen Farrell (ankle) and Courtney Lawes (concussion) - England's two most recent skippers - unavailable due to injury.
In midfield, Daly is recalled by head coach Eddie Jones to start at 13 for the first time in an England shirt since 2016 (he started at centre for the Lions in the first Test vs South Africa in the summer), having initially been left out of England's 36-man squad for the championship.
Daly will partner Exeter's Henry Slade in the centres, with Harlequins' Joe Marchant fit for selection after Covid-19 isolation, but picked to start on the left wing.
Other headline news sees Exeter's Simmonds start at No 8 ahead of Harlequins' in-form Alex Dombrandt, who is named among the replacements. The Test will be Simmonds' first start for four years.
In the second row, with Jonny Hill, Courtney Lawes and Joe Launchbury all unavailable, Saracens' Isiekwe partners club team-mate Maro Itoje, having, like Daly, originally been left out of the squad entirely.
The backline is completed by Leicester Tigers' Freddie Steward at full-back, Saracens' Max Malins on the right wing and a half-back pairing of Marcus Smith and Ben Youngs. Exeter's Jack Nowell is on the bench, alongside Leicester out-half George Ford and Bristol scrum-half Harry Randall.
A front row of Leicester's Ellis Genge at loosehead, Exeter's Luke Cowan-Dickie at hooker and Bristol's Kyle Sinckler at tighthead is named, while Northampton flanker Lewis Ludlam joins Curry and Simmonds in the back row.
Elsewhere among the replacements, hooker Jamie George, loosehead Joe Marler, tighthead Will Stuart and second-row Charlie Ewels join Dombrandt, Randall, Ford and Nowell.
"As the first game, this match is hugely important to both sides and we will both want to get off to a winning start," Jones said on Thursday.
"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; 1 Ellis Genge, 2 Luke Cowan-Dickie, 3 Kyle Sinckler, 4 Maro Itoje, 5 Nick Isiekwe, 6 Lewis Ludlam, 7 Tom Curry (c), 8 Sam Simmonds.
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.
Curry captains an England side in Edinburgh on Saturday where seven of the starting XV have 10 caps or less, with some 25 per cent of the total appearances owned by scrum-half Youngs (112 caps).
Speaking to Sky Sports after his squad announcement, head coach Jones claimed Scotland are 'red-hot' favourites ahead of the Calcutta Cup clash.
"I think they'll be red-hot [favourites]," Jones said.
"Because they won the last game [vs England, Six Nations 2021], they had a great autumn series where they had a win against Australia, a good win against Tonga, and they beat Japan.
"And the number of players that got into the Lions team indicates they are probably two years ahead of us in terms of their development.
"We're a very young team but a very good team.
"What an honour it is to be involved in the 143rd Calcutta Cup game for the oldest rugby trophy in the world.
"Between a Scotland side that is probably at its best...there's probably been no better Scotland side, so they carry the weight of expectation.
"They'll have 62,000 people there expecting them to win, and we're always expected to win so it's no different for us."
Ahead of Saturday's pivotal Test, Jones also bigged up Curry, saying there was no reason the England back-row could not be as good as All Blacks legend Richie McCaw.
"He'll lead by example. There's no more determined rugby player in the world than Tom Curry," Jones added.
"The players really like playing with him, he'll influence their effort, and he'll be an outstanding captain on Saturday.
"He'll get great support from guys like Luke Cowan-Dickie, Ellis Genge and Henry Slade, and then we've got Maro Itoje who continues to impress, so we're pretty well resourced in that leadership area.
"There's no reason why he [Curry] can't be [as good as Richie McCaw]. At this stage of his career, he's got the same qualities that Richie had, which was hard at the ball, an immense competitor, and there's opportunities over the next period of time to keep developing his game.
"And then developing his leadership style, which he will do."
