Autumn Nations Cup
Jones names Itoje at 6 for Georgia Test
Eddie Jones has named his team for England’s Quilter International against Georgia this weekend.
England will open their Autumn Nations Cup campaign at Twickenham Stadium on Saturday 14 November (3pm KO) and will be looking to build on a successful return to international rugby after winning the Guinness Six Nations last month.
Jack Willis will make his England debut at open-side flanker. Owen Farrell will captain the side at fly half.
After becoming only the second men’s player to reach 100 caps for England, against Italy, Ben Youngs will play at scrum half.
In the front row, Ellis Genge will play loosehead and Will Stuart makes his first start for England at tighthead, with Jamie George, who reached his 50th cap in Rome, at hooker. Charlie Ewels and Joe Launchbury complete the tight five.
Billy Vunipola will continue at No. 8, while Maro Itoje will play at blind-side flanker.
Henry Slade starts at inside centre with Ollie Lawrence, who made his England debut in Rome, at outside centre.
Jonathan Joseph moves to the wing, along with Jonny May, with Elliot Daly returning to the side after injury completing the line-up at full back.
Max Malins could make his first England appearance after being named as finisher, along with Tom Curry, Tom Dunn, Ben Earl, Joe Marchant, Dan Robson, Kyle Sinckler and Mako Vunipola.
Jones said: “We’ve had a really good week of training. We know there are a lot of expectations on us and we’ve applied ourselves hard and put a lot of pressure on ourselves in the early part of this week.
“Georgia will be a tough opponent, so we have a team with some real power in midfield. We have a good mix of youth and experience across the squad and they are completely focused on putting in an excellent performance on Saturday.
“We’re looking forward to being back at our home at Twickenham, we are humbled by the opportunity and want to give people a reason to smile during such a tough time for the country.”
England will play their second Quilter International, as part of the Autumn Nations Cup, against Ireland at Twickenham on Saturday 21 November (3pm KO).
They will then travel to Llanelli to play Wales at Parc y Scarlets in their last group game on Saturday 28 November (4pm KO) before returning to Twickenham for their final Quilter International, a tournament placing match, on Sunday 6 December (2pm KO).
England v Georgia is live on Amazon Prime and BBC Radio 5 Live.
Eddie Jones has named his team for England’s Quilter International against Ireland this weekend.
England will host Ireland at Twickenham Stadium on Saturday (3pm KO) as they look to build on their winning start to the Autumn Nations Cup – after beating Georgia 40-0 in their opening match.
Owen Farrell will captain the side at fly half. Ollie Lawrence will make his second start for England at outside centre, with Henry Slade at inside centre.
The team’s most-capped player, Ben Youngs, will play at scrum half, while Jonathan Joseph and Jonny May are on the wing. Elliot Daly will play at full back.
Jamie George, who scored a hat-trick of tries against Georgia, is at hooker with Mako Vunipola (loose-head prop) and Kyle Sinckler (tight-head prop) beside him in the front row.
Maro Itoje moves to lock, joining Joe Launchbury, to complete the tight five.
Tom Curry (blindside) and Sam Underhill (openside) return to the starting line up as flankers, with Billy Vunipola making up the back row at number 8.
George Ford returns from injury and is named as a finisher along with last weekend’s debutant Max Malins and try-scorer Dan Robson. Tom Dunn, Ben Earl, Ellis Genge, Jonny Hill and Will Stuart complete the bench.
Jones said: “I’ve picked the strongest team possible for the most important game of our season.
“We have the highest respect for the Ireland and their coach Andy Farrell. They’ve had good preparation with two wins and a dominant display against Wales, and we will need to be at our best on Saturday.
“We’ve trained well this week, we’re expecting a tough, physical game against Ireland and we’ve reflected that in our sessions. We’ll look to lift our performance even higher and are looking forward to a really good game of rugby.”
England will then play their final group game in Llanelli, against hosts Wales, at Parc y Scarlets on Saturday 28 November (4pm KO). Their final Quilter International, a tournament placing game, will be played at Twickenham on Sunday 6 December (2pm KO).
England v Ireland is live on Amazon Prime and Channel 4.
James Ryan will lead an Ireland team that shows four changes to the side that took the field against Wales.
The Ireland Coaching Team have named the match day squad for the second game of the Autumn Nations Cup as they travel to Twickenham to take on England.
James Ryan will be the 107th player to captain Ireland when he leads out the team at Twickenham, in the absence of Johnny Sexton.
Ryan is again partnered in the 2nd row by last week’s try scorer Quinn Roux. They will pack down behind the unchanged front row of Cian Healy, Ronan Kelleher and Andrew Porter.
CJ Stander returns to the starting XV at blindside with Peter O’Mahony moving to 7 and Caelan Doris packing down at 8.
Jamison Gibson Park retains the scrum-half jersey and will partner Ross Byrne who replaces the injured Sexton.
In the centre Bundee Aki comes in for the injured Robbie Henshaw with Chris Farrell lining out at 13.
Hugo Keenan continues at fullback with James Lowe and Keith Earls on the wings.
The forward replacements are Rob Herring, Ed Byrne, Finlay Bealham, Iain Henderson and Will Connors while Conor Murray, Billy Burns and Jacob Stockdale provide cover for the backs.
The match is live on RTÉ, Channel 4 and Amazon Prime (UK Only).
Press release from IRFU.
Wales make wholesale changes for Georgia
England team named for Ireland fixture
