Captain Itoje back in England XV for Scotland match
Captain Maro Itoje returns to the England starting XV for Saturday's Six Nations fixture against Scotland in Edinburgh.
After being on the bench during England's dominant 48-7 victory over Wales, Itoje is reinstated in the second row, marking one of two changes to the forward pack.
Luke Cowan-Dickie starts at hooker, with Jamie George, who captained the side in Itoje's absence, named among the replacements.
The only other alteration to the matchday squad sees fly-half Fin Smith come onto the bench, replacing Marcus Smith.
England reclaimed the Calcutta Cup last year with a narrow 16-15 win at Twickenham, ending a streak of four consecutive defeats to Scotland from 2021 to 2024.
"Playing Scotland at Murrayfield is always a fantastic occasion and a challenge we are relishing," said head coach Steve Borthwick.
Itoje returns to the pack; backline remains unchanged
Prior to last weekend, Itoje had started every England Six Nations game since 2020. He missed the start of the training camp in Girona to attend his mother Florence's funeral in Nigeria and featured as a second-half substitute against Wales.
The British and Irish Lions captain partners fellow Lion Ollie Chessum at lock, with Alex Coles named on the bench.
England's backline remains unchanged from the previous match. Henry Arundell retains his place on the left wing following his first-half hat-trick last weekend. Northampton teammates Fraser Dingwall and Tommy Freeman continue in the midfield despite Ollie Lawrence being available.
Tom Roebuck keeps his position on the right wing after scoring a try in his return to fitness against Wales. Freddie Steward is at full-back, while Alex Mitchell and George Ford form the half-back partnership.
England's recent form and Scotland's challenge
England enter the match on a 12-game winning streak. In contrast, Scotland's inconsistent form from the autumn persisted as they were narrowly defeated by Italy in Rome.
Both England and France, pre-tournament favourites, secured comfortable wins in the opening round, setting up a potentially decisive final-day encounter in Paris.
However, England number eight Ben Earl emphasizes that the team's focus remains solely on improving their record in Scotland.
England have not won at Murrayfield for six years, with their last victory being a 13-6 win in challenging weather conditions in 2020.
"I promise you no-one is talking about Paris in our camp," Earl told the Rugby Union Weekly podcast.
"No-one. We said in our huddle [after Wales]: 'Well done, but we haven't won at Murrayfield for years.'
"We have got to right some wrongs."
Match details
Scotland v England
Saturday 14 February at 16:40 GMT
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