FILE PHOTO: Rugby Union - Six Nations Championship - England Training - Pennyhill Park, London, Britain - January 25, 2023 England's Cadan Murley during training Action Images via Reuters/Andrew Couldridge/File Photo
LONDON (Reuters) -England will give Harlequins winger Cadan Murley his debut against Ireland on Saturday after Steve Borthwick named his team on Tuesday for the Six Nations opener, with twins Ben and Tom Curry to start in the back row together for the first time.
Alex Mitchell has recovered from injury to start at scrumhalf, with Marcus Smith at 10 and Fin Smith on the bench.
Maro Itoje will captain the side for the first time, having taken over from Jamie George, who is absent from the Dublin clash through injury. Luke Cowan-Dickie will start at hooker, with Theo Dan on the bench.
Despite England's struggles in attack in their November internationals, coach Borthwick has kept faith with his regular centre pairing of Ollie Lawrence and Henry Slade, while Freddie Steward is at fullback.
Saracens number eight Tom Willis is set to win his second cap off the bench, while Harry Randall provides scrumhalf cover with Smith the only other back in a 6-2 forwards split.
Murley has been a regular in wider England squads in recent years without ever making a matchday 23, but gets his opportunity on the left wing, with Tommy Freeman on the right, in the absence of injured Immanuel Feyi-Waboso.
Tom Curry is at six with his Sale colleague and brother Ben winning a seventh cap at openside. The 26-year-olds have never played together for England, though got close last year when Ben replaced Tom after an hour against New Zealand. They were first selected in a squad together as teenagers in 2017.
Ben Earl retains his Number Eight slot to complete an athletic and dynamic back row ready to take on Ireland at the breakdown, where they excel.
England beat Ireland at Twickenham last season, ending a run of four straight defeats by them, in their best result of an otherwise poor season.
Ireland bounced back to win the title for a second season in a row, but England fell away to finish third.
Since winning the championship under Eddie Jones in 2020, England have finished fifth, third, fourth and third, with nine wins (four against Italy) from 20 games.
They face a stiff start to this year’s championship as they follow the opening trip to Dublin with home games against France, Scotland and Italy, before finishing away to Wales on March 15.
"We’re looking forward to the challenge of facing the tournament favourites,” Borthwick said in a statement.
"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."
The Six Nations gets underway on Friday night when France play Wales in Paris.
England team to face Ireland (1645GMT):
15. Freddie Steward (Leicester Tigers, 35 caps)
14. Tommy Freeman (Northampton Saints, 15 caps)
13. Ollie Lawrence (Bath Rugby, 31 caps)
12. Henry Slade (Exeter Chiefs, 69 caps)
11. Cadan Murley (Harlequins, uncapped)
10. Marcus Smith (Harlequins, 39 caps)
9. Alex Mitchell (Northampton Saints, 18 caps)
1. Ellis Genge (Bristol Bears, 66 caps) – vice-captain
2. Luke Cowan-Dickie (Sale Sharks, 44 caps)
3. Will Stuart (Bath Rugby, 45 caps)
4. Maro Itoje (Saracens, 88 caps) – captain
5. George Martin (Leicester Tigers, 19 caps)
6. Tom Curry (Sale Sharks, 56 caps)
7. Ben Curry (Sale Sharks, 6 caps)
8. Ben Earl (Saracens, 37 caps)
Replacements:
16. Theo Dan (Saracens, 16 caps)
17. Fin Baxter (Harlequins, 6 caps)
18. Joe Heyes (Leicester Tigers, 7 caps)
19. Ollie Chessum (Leicester Tigers, 23 caps)
20. Chandler Cunningham-South (Harlequins, 11 caps)
21. Tom Willis (Saracens, 1 cap)
22. Harry Randall (Bristol Bears, 11 caps)
23. Fin Smith (Northampton Saints, 6 caps)
(Reporting by Mitch Phillips, editing by Ken Ferris)
