England head coach Eddie Jones has made five changes to the starting lineup to face Scotland in the Six Nations on Saturday, with Ben Youngs dropped to the bench.
Gloucester’s Willi Heinz will replace Youngs at scrum-half with Lewis Ludlam, Mako Vunipola, George Kruis and Jonathan Joseph all set to start.
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Courtney Lawes was also dropped to the bench while Joe Marler has been left out of the matchday squad completely after England lost their opening fixtures to France last weekend.
“Preparation this week has been great,” Jones said in a statement. “We have sought to address the issues from the France game and have had a really good and sharp preparation for Scotland.
“Scotland are a dangerous side. They like to play with a lot of width and with a lot of flow and tempo in their game. We want to make sure we dominate the gain line.
“Their win record against England at Murrayfield is substantially higher than their overall record against us, so we have to recognise they are a dangerous beast and we have to be at our best to beat them.”
Eddie Jones has named his side to face Scotland in the second round of the #GuinnessSixNations 🌹#WearTheRose @O2sports pic.twitter.com/6JEbUdCu8H
— England Rugby (@EnglandRugby) February 6, 2020
Jones was forced to ring the changes with both Manu Tuilagi and Anthony Watson ruled out of the match through injury.
Meanwhile, Saracens forward Ben Earl and Bath’s Tom Dunn could make their international debuts off the bench.
England starting XV
George Furbank, Jonny May, Jonathan Joseph, Owen Farrell (captain), Elliot Daly, George Ford, Willi Heinz, Mako Vunipola, Jamie George, Kyle Sinckler, Maro Itoje, George Kruis, Lewis Ludlam, Sam Underhill, Tom Curry.
Replacements
Tom Dunn, Ellis Genge, Will Stuart, Joe Launchbury, Courtney Lawes, Ben Earl, Ben Youngs, Ollie Devoto.