Henry Pollock will make his first Test start for England as part of a reshuffled back row that also includes Tom Curry, similarly promoted from the bench. With Pollock at No 8, Ben Earl slides across the openside, while there is a positional switch in the backline, too: Tommy Freeman moves out to the wing and Ollie Lawrence is brought into midfield.

Captain Maro Itoje will win his 100th cap for his country, becoming the ninth Englishman to reach the mark. Jack van Poortvliet and Marcus Smith provide backline cover on a six/two bench.

England XV: 1 Ellis Genge, 2 Luke Cowan-Dickie, 3 Joe Heyes; 4 Maro Itoje (capt.), 5 Ollie Chessum; 6 Tom Curry, 7 Ben Earl, 8 Henry Pollock; 9 Alex Mitchell, 10 George Ford; 11 Henry Arundell, 12 Fraser Dingwall, 13 Ollie Lawrence, 14 Tommy Freeman; 15 Freddie Steward.

Replacements: 16 Jamie George, 17 Bevan Rodd, 18 Trevor Davison, 19 Alex Coles, 20 Guy Pepper, 21 Sam Underhill; 22 Jack van Poortvliet, 23 Marcus Smith.

Need a reminder of all the Six Nations action so far and the fixtures to come in this campaign? We’ve got you covered.

Freeman started all three Tests in the 2-1 series victory over Australia that concluded on August 2 – alongside Maro Itoje and Tom Curry one of only three Englishman to do so – and still felt the effects when the new season began.

While physically he was recharged by the mandatory five-week rest period that followed the tour, Northampton director of rugby Phil Dowson and head coach Sam Vesty spotted that his “mental state wasn’t in the best spot”.

A reduction in training and matches enabled the 24-year-old to negotiate the early part of 2025-26 and he went on to take part in England’s autumn campaign until he was affected by a hamstring niggle.

Andy Farrell had last week issued a strong criticism of what he described as “keyboard warriors” around the Sam Prendergast/Jack Crowley debate.

Having left Edwin Edogbo out of his matchday 23, Andy Farrell also had a message of support for the lock.

More depressingly, Maro Itoje also spoke powerfully this week about racism and the dangers of social media following the abuse suffered by Edwin Edogbo, the Ireland lock, after his debut last weekend.

It will be a special day, meanwhile, for Maro Itoje as he becomes the ninth Englishman to hit 100 caps. Itoje will be sporting special boots for the occasion, and shared a few favourite memories from down the years this week.

We can expect to see a fired-up England in the opening quarter today, with recognition within the squad that they had not reached the requisite physical level in the first 15 minutes against Scotland.

George Ford retains his starting fly half place ahead of Fin and Marcus Smith, backed to go again after a rare misstep in a redemptive year for the veteran. I found out what makes him tick:

It was a Marcus Smith drop goal that settled this fixture here two years ago, but an attempt to slot three points went awry for George Ford and England last weekend, resulting in a Scottish score. Don’t expect, though, England to go away from the tactic should ball be slow in the Irish 22.