Chiefs duo to face Scotland

By Mark Stevens
22/2/18

Exeter Chiefs duo Jack Nowell and Harry Williams have both been named in England's match-day squad for Saturday's Natwest Six Nations Championship clash with Scotland at BT Murrayfield (4:45pm).

The Chiefs pair will, as they have in the games against Italy and Wales, again start on the bench for Eddie Jones' side, which shows one change to the side that beat Wales last time out,

Nathan Hughes (Wasps) returns from a knee injury to the side at No 8 in place of injured Exeter Chiefs star Sam Simmonds.

Joe Launchbury will play in his 50th game for England having made his debut for his country against Fiji in 2012.

Captain Dylan Hartley will become England’s second most capped player of all time when he steps out for the 92nd time on Saturday. Hartley will surpass Jonny Wilkinson on 91 caps and now only sits behind Jason Leonard (114). Front-row colleague Joe Marler (Harlequins) is named as a finisher following his suspension.

Jones said: “We are really excited about this game and we will need to be very tough and relentless in our defence to keep the pressure on this Scottish team.

“They are renowned for their attack so we will need to put pressure on them, create opportunities through our defence for our attack, and convert those opportunities to points. Our preparation over the last two weeks has been important in that it has allowed us to regenerate the players, improve the fitness of some and to get a clear understanding on how we will play this weekend.

“Nathan Hughes has worked hard on his fitness. I’ve never seen him in better physical condition, so we are looking forward to him playing. Nathan has a key role in defence and in us gaining momentum in attack.”

England Team to play Scotland

15 Mike Brown (Harlequins 66 caps)
14 Anthony Watson (Bath Rugby 30 caps)
13 Jonathan Joseph (Bath Rugby 37 caps)
12 Owen Farrell (Saracens 55 caps)
11 Jonny May (Leicester Tigers 31 caps)
10 George Ford (Leicester Tigers 42 caps)
9 Danny Care (Harlequins 78 caps)
1 Mako Vunipola (Saracens 46 caps)
2 Dylan Hartley (Northampton Saints 91 caps)
3 Dan Cole (Leicester Tigers 79 caps)
4 Joe Launchbury (Wasps 49 caps)
5 Maro Itoje (Saracens 16 caps)
6 Courtney Lawes (Northampton Saints 63 caps)
7 Chris Robshaw (Harlequins 61 caps)
8 Nathan Hughes (Wasps 12 caps)

16 Jamie George (Saracens 22 caps)
17 Joe Marler (Harlequins 53 caps)
18 Harry Williams (Exeter Chiefs 7 caps)
19 George Kruis (Saracens 23 caps)
20 Sam Underhill (Bath Rugby 5 caps)
21 Richard Wigglesworth (Saracens 28 caps)
22 Ben Te’o (Worcester Warriors 10 caps)
23 Jack Nowell (Exeter Chiefs 25 caps)