England head coach Steve Borthwick has announced his side to take on Wales at the Allianz Stadium, Twickenham, on Saturday in the opening round of the 2026 Guinness Six Nations and included skipper Maro Itoje among the replacements.
Itoje’s Saracens teammate Jamie George will lead the team from the start with the British & Irish Lions captain taking over control when he comes off the bench.
The decision not to start Itoje was taken because he has been grieving the death of his mother Florence. His omission from the start means that Alex Coles and Ollie Chessum will join forces in the second row.
Coles is one of six Northampton Saints players in the matchday 23. Sale Sharks and Bath provide four players each, while Saracens and Leicester Tigers contribute three each
Bath flyer Henry Arundell will make his first England start since the 2023 World Cup after being named on the left wing. He last started against Argentina in the bronze final two-and-a-half-years ago but became unavailable when he signed for French club Racing 92.
Arundell joins Cardiff-born Immanuel Feyi-Waboso on the wings with the Northampton Saints duo of Fraser Dingwall and Tommy Freeman occupying the centre positions.
“England versus Wales is always a special occasion in the rugby calendar. It’s a fierce rivalry with a long history and one that brings a huge challenge every time we meet,” said Borthwick.
“We expect Wales to bring a kicking game, so we’ll need to be accurate in how we respond to that challenge. For us, our focus is on executing our game plan and maintaining discipline throughout the match.
“We’re excited to get the Championship under way at a packed-out Allianz Stadium. The support we receive at home is outstanding and always gives the players a huge lift.”
Borthwick has loaded his bench with six forwards once again and has turned to the more experienced Bevan Rodd and Trevor Davison to fill the gaps created by the injury crisis at prop with Will Stuart, Fin Baxter and Asher Opoku-Fordjour missing the entire Six Nations.
England: Freddie Steward (Leicester Tigers); Immanuel Feyi-Waboso (Exeter Chiefs), Tommy Freeman (Northampton Saints), Fraser Dingwall (Northampton Saints), Henry Arundell (Bath); George Ford (Sale Sharks), Alex Mitchell (Northampton Saints); Ellis Genge (Bristol Bears), Jamie George (Saracens, captain), Joe Heyes (Leicester Tigers), Alex Coles (Northampton Saints), Ollie Chessum (Leicester Tigers), Guy Pepper (Bath), Sam Underhill (Bath), Ben Earl (Saracens)
Reps: Luke Cowan-Dickie (Sale Sharks), Bevan Rodd (Sale Sharks), Trevor Davison (Northampton Saints), Maro Itoje (Saracens), Tom Curry (Sale Sharks), Henry Pollock (Northampton Saints), Ben Spencer (Bath), Marcus Smith (Harlequins)