Four Leicester Tigers players will kick off the Six Nations in England colours this weekend.
Eddie Jones has named his England team for their opening Guinness Six Nations match against Scotland in Edinburgh on Saturday (4.45pm) with Tigers colleagues Freddie Steward, Ben Youngs and Ellis Genge in the starting line-up and George Ford among the replacements.
Tom Curry will captain England, with Genge, Luke Cowan-Dickie and Henry Slade as vice-captains.
Jones said: “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. 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.”
Scotland v England is live on BBC 1 and BBC Radio 5 Live. There is big-screen coverage in Final Whistle at Mattioli Woods Welford Road following the Tigers match against Worcester Warriors.
ENGLAND XV
15 Freddie Steward (Leicester Tigers, 5 caps)
14 Max Malins (Saracens, 10 caps)
13 Elliot Daly (Saracens, 52 caps)
12 Henry Slade (Exeter Chiefs, 43 caps)
11 Joe Marchant (Harlequins, 7 caps)
10 Marcus Smith (Harlequins, 5 caps)
9 Ben Youngs (Leicester Tigers, 112 caps)
1 Ellis Genge (Leicester Tigers, 31 caps)
2 Luke Cowan-Dickie (Exeter Chiefs, 31 caps)
3 Kyle Sinckler (Bristol Bears, 47 caps)
4 Maro Itoje (Saracens, 51 caps)
5 Nick Isiekwe (Saracens, 3 caps)
6 Lewis Ludlam (Northampton Saints, 10 caps)
7 Tom Curry (Sale Sharks, 36 caps) (C)
8 Sam Simmonds (Exeter Chiefs, 9 caps)
Finishers
16 Jamie George (Saracens, 61 caps)
17 Joe Marler (Harlequins, 74 caps)
18 Will Stuart (Bath Rugby, 15 caps)
19 Charlie Ewels (Bath Rugby, 26 caps)
20 Alex Dombrandt (Harlequins, 4 caps)
21 Harry Randall (Bristol Bears, 2 caps)
22 George Ford (Leicester Tigers, 77 caps)
23 Jack Nowell (Exeter Chiefs, 34 caps)
