Brothers Tom and Ben Curry will begin collectively for England for the primary time within the aspect that takes on Eire in Saturday’s Six Nations opener on the Aviva Stadium.
The crew additionally sees lock Maro Itoje captain England from the beginning of a Take a look at for the primary time, turning into the 136th participant to take action within the historical past of England rugby.
Luke Cowan-Dickie begins at hooker with former captain Jamie George dominated out with a hamstring harm, whereas wing Cadan Murley will make his Take a look at debut in a back-three with Tommy Freeman and Freddie Steward.
The entrance row is then made up of Ellis Genge at loosehead prop and Will Stuart at tighthead, with George Martin partnering skipper Itoje within the second row, and Ben Earl at No 8 finishing the pack alongside the 26-year-old Curry twins within the again row.
Alex Mitchell and Marcus Smith will hyperlink up as soon as once more within the half-backs, whereas Ollie Lawrence and Henry Slade will play within the centres.
Theo Dan, Fin Baxter, Joe Heyes, Ollie Chessum, Chandler Cunningham-South, Tom Willis, Harry Randall and Fin Smith then make up the replacements’ bench, with six forwards and two backs.
“We’re looking forward to the challenge of facing the tournament favourites,” mentioned head coach Steve Borthwick.
“We know it’ll be a tough contest against a team that’s very familiar with each other. We’ll need to work tirelessly and maintain our discipline from the first whistle to the last.
“England versus Eire in Dublin is a big event, and we’ll be able to face it head-on.”
England team vs Ireland
Starting XV: 15 Freddie Steward, 14 Tommy Freeman, 13 Ollie Lawrence, 12 Henry Slade, 11 Cadan Murley, 10 Marcus Smith, 9 Alex Mitchell; 1 Ellis Genge, 2 Luke Cowan-Dickie, 3 Will Stuart, 4 Maro Itoje (c) 5 George Martin, 6 Tom Curry, 7 Ben Curry, 8 Ben Earl.
Replacements: 16 Theo Dan, 17 Fin Baxter, 18 Joe Heyes, 19 Ollie Chessum, 20 Chandler Cunningham-South, 21 Tom Willis, 22 Harry Randall, 23 Fin Smith.
Six Nations 2025 fixtures: England
- February 1: Ireland (a)
- February 8: France (h)
- February 22: Scotland (h)
- March 9: Italy (h)
- March 15: Wales (a)
‘Murley’s debut a big surprise’
Sky Sports activities Information reporter James Cole:
“The big surprise in this England team to face Ireland is Cadan Murley’s debut on the wing. The Harlequins player has been in outstanding form this season.
“He is scored 10 tries in 12 video games, together with two for England A towards Australia A again in autumn.
“Murley possesses out-and-out electric pace, something few England wingers have in recent times, and all the signs are that he has the all-round game to thrive at Test level.
“Within the again row, the inclusion of the Curry twins to play collectively for England for the primary time has raised eyebrows.
“It suggests England will be targeting the breakdown in a big way, trying to prevent the Irish from getting that green machine motoring.
“Each Ben and Tom Curry are dynamic, highly effective and really a lot in type, however with Ben Earl holding his place at No 8 – forward of Tom Willis – it does imply England have a comparatively brief again row, with no line-out specialist.
“The other interesting, albeit subtle, selection tweak comes in the centres, where Henry Slade and Ollie Lawrence will continue their partnership, but they’ve switched positions.
“Lawrence has moved from inside to exterior centre, the place the place he excels at Bathtub.
“The Lawrence-Slade partnership has been compared to the Gerrard-Lampard conundrum in football of years gone by, where they’re two excellent individuals but when paired at international level, it hasn’t taken off.
“The hope is by switching positions – Lawrence shifting to 13, Slade to 12 – that may treatment the problem.
“England kick-off their Six Nations campaign in Dublin this Saturday. They haven’t won there since 2019.”
