Identical twins Tom and Ben Curry will start together for England for the first time as Steve Borthwick makes a bold selection call for his side’s Six Nations opener against Ireland.
The Sale pair are deployed at blindside and openside respectively, as they are regularly for their club, having first been named in a matchday squad together during the Autumn Nations Series.
Elsewhere, there is a surprise debut for Cadan Murley on the wing in the absence of Immanuel Feyi-Waboso, while Freddie Steward starts at full-back with George Furbank injured.
Marcus Smith continues at fly half after starting all four games in November, with half-back partner Alex Mitchell fit to start having been an injury doubt.
Six forwards, including the in form Tom Willis, are named on the bench as Fin Smith gets the nod ahead of George Ford as cover at 10. Maro Itoje captains England from the start for the first time.
“We’re looking forward to the challenge of facing the tournament favourites,” said Borthwick as his side prepare to begin a crucial campaign against the defending champions.
"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 Ireland in Dublin is a huge occasion, and we’ll be ready to face it head-on.”
Ireland suffered their only defeat of last year’s Six Nations at Twickenham en route to a second successive tournament crown.
England subsequently endured significant struggles, though, only succeeding in beating Japan across the rest of 2024 to finish the year with just five wins from 12 games.
Parts of Borthwick’s side are settled: George Martin again joins Itoje in the second row, while Ellis Genge and Will Stuart continue as the first-choice propping pair.
Henry Slade and Ollie Lawrence are given another opportunity to hone their centre partnership. Luke Cowan-Dickie begins at hooker after injury to Jamie George.
But the selections of both Curry twins catches the eye. The pair have never previously spent time on the field together at Test level, with Ben replacing his brother during November. Their selection represents a shift in strategy from Borthwick, who has generally favoured an extra lineout jumping option in the back row.
A back five bench trio of Ollie Chessum, Chandler Cunningham-South and one-cap number eight Willis should ensure no shortage of punch from the replacements, though, with the final quarter output a key area of improvement identified after an autumn of near misses.
England team to face Ireland at the Aviva Stadium (Saturday 1 February, 4.45pm GMT):
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)
