London (AFP) - Tom Curry will captain England in their Six Nations opener away to Scotland on Saturday after Eddie Jones' first two choices as skipper were ruled out by injury.
At 23, Sale back-row Curry becomes England's youngest skipper since Will Carling in 1988, with Owen Farrell and Courtney Lawes both ruled out of the Calcutta Cup clash.
England had hoped Farrell would recover in time for the Murrayfield match but the fly-half/centre has been sidelined from the entire Six Nations with an ankle injury.
Lawes, the stand-in skipper for wins over Tonga and world champions South Africa in November, is also unavailable as the forward is still recovering from a head knock suffered while playing for club side Northampton.
"Tom Curry will captain the side for this game and has the respect of the team around him in Owen and Courtney's absence," said England coach Jones on Thursday.
"He also has the support of the vice captains and other leaders in the team such as Maro Itoje and Ben Youngs."
In the backs, Marcus Smith will continue at fly-half after holding off the challenge of No 10 George Ford.
