Maro Itoje has been recalled to the England starting lineup to face Scotland in the Six Nations, but there’s no place in the squad for Marcus Smith.
Itoje partners Ollie Chessum in the second row for Saturday’s Calcutta Cup showdown at Murrayfield after being named on the bench against Wales on opening weekend, with Alex Coles dropping out.
It was the first time in almost seven years that the England captain has not started in a Six Nations game, having joined up late with their pre-tournament training camp in Girona after attending the funeral of his mother Florence in Nigeria.
Itoje came off the bench during the second half of the 48-7 thrashing of Wales to a warm reception at Twickenham, only to then be shown a yellow card within seconds of his arrival.
With Itoje named as a replacement in round one, predecessor Jamie George temporarily took back the captaincy, though the latter is only named as a replacement for the trip to Edinburgh - alongside Coles - as Luke Cowan-Dickie is selected to start at hooker instead.
Those are head coach Steve Borthwick’s only changes to the side that thrashed Wales, with the starting backline from that seven-try rout remaining intact.
However, Fin Smith does earn a spot on the bench after recovering from a persistent calf injury, preferred to versatile namesake Marcus as the fly-half cover for George Ford as he takes his place in another 6-2 split alongside scrum-half Ben Spencer.
Immanuel Feyi-Waboso could miss the entire Six Nations for the second successive year with a hamstring injury, having been replaced by Tom Roebuck on the eve of the win over Wales.
Roebuck retains his place on the right wing against a Scotland team wounded by their shock 18-15 loss to Italy in Rome, opposite Henry Arundell, who scored a first-half hat-trick last weekend on his first Test start since the 2023 World Cup.
Freddie Steward is at full-back, with Northampton duo Fraser Dingwall and Tommy Freeman again partnered in the centres as Borthwick resists the option to bring back Ollie Lawrence following his recovery from a knee injury. Ford and Alex Mitchell remain the half-back pairing.
In the pack, Cowan-Dickie is flanked in the front row by props Ellis Genge and Joe Heyes, with Genge’s half-time substitution against Wales having been made for tactical reasons.
Itoje and Chessum are paired together at lock, with flankers Guy Pepper and Sam Underhill joining number eight Ben Earl - who ended the Wales game at inside centre - in the back row.
George, Coles, Fin Smith and Spencer are joined on the bench by Bevan Rodd, Trevor Davison, Tom Curry and Henry Pollock.
“Playing Scotland at Murrayfield is always a fantastic occasion and a challenge we are relishing,” said Borthwick.
“We made a pleasing start to the Championship, but we understand that we must continue to raise our standards.
“The squad has trained with focus and determination this week, and we’re excited for the opportunity to test ourselves again on Saturday.”
England team to face Scotland in Six Nations
Steward; Roebuck, Freeman, Dingwall, Arundell; Ford, Mitchell; Genge, Cowan-Dickie, Heyes; Itoje (c), Chessum; Pepper, Underhill, Earl
Replacements: George, Rodd, Davison, Coles, T Curry, Pollock, Spencer, F Smith
