Earl set for maiden England outing

Seven Saracens have been named in England’s 23 to face Scotland in the second round of the Six Nations Championship on Saturday.

Prop Mako Vunipola returns to the front row alongside Jamie George while George Kruis comes back in to partner club teammate Maro Itoje in the second row.

Earl is top of the Premiership try scorers list with six this season.

Captain Owen Farrell and Elliot Daly keep their places at inside centre and wing respectively.

On the bench, Ben Earl is in line to become the latest Saracens Academy graduate to make his international debut.

The back rower has been named as a replacement as head coach Eddie Jones opts for a six-two finishers split.

Earl has earned his chance to shine on the international stage after an impressive start to the 2019/20 season.

A tourist to South Africa in the summer of 2018, the 22-year-old has scored six Premiership tries this term and has made more metres, turnovers and tackles than any of his country’s other challengers for the Number 8 jersey – a position suggested he could come on and play at the weekend.

Having formerly captained England at youth level, Earl told the Daily Mail recently: “England has always been that light at the end of the tunnel that you really want to get to but you have to take it week by week because, if you have a few bad games for your club, then people are questioning your shirt.”

“England has always been that light at the end of the tunnel that you really want to get to." - Earl

Saturday will now be the young gun’s opportunity.

England chief Jones said of the match vs Scotland: “Preparation this week has been great. We have sought to address the issues from the France game and have had a really good and sharp preparation for Scotland.

“Scotland are a dangerous side. They like to play with a lot of width and with a lot of flow and tempo in their game. We want to make sure we dominate the gain line.

“Their win record against England at Murrayfield is substantially higher than their overall record against us, so we have to recognise they are a dangerous beast and we have to be at our best to beat them.”

England starting XV vs Scotland:

15 George Furbank (Northampton Saints, 1 cap)
14 Jonny May (Leicester Tigers, 53 caps)
13 Jonathan Joseph (Bath Rugby, 48 caps)
12 Owen Farrell (Saracens, 80 caps) C
11 Elliot Daly (Saracens, 40 caps)
10 George Ford (Leicester Tigers, 66 caps)
9 Willi Heinz (Gloucester Rugby, 10 caps)
1 Mako Vunipola (Saracens, 58 caps)
2 Jamie George (Saracens, 46 caps) 
3 Kyle Sinckler (Harlequins, 32 caps)
4 Maro Itoje (Saracens, 35 caps)
5 George Kruis (Saracens, 42 caps)
6 Lewis Ludlam (Northampton Saints, 7 caps)
7 Sam Underhill (Bath Rugby, 16 caps)
8 Tom Curry (Sale Sharks, 20 caps)

Finishers

16 Tom Dunn (Bath Rugby, uncapped)
17 Ellis Genge (Leicester Tigers, 15 caps)
18 Will Stuart (Bath Rugby, 1 cap)
19 Joe Launchbury (Wasps, 62 caps)
20 Courtney Lawes (Northampton Saints, 82 caps)
21 Ben Earl (Saracens, uncapped)
22 Ben Youngs (Leicester Tigers, 96 caps)
23 Ollie Devoto (Exeter Chiefs, 2 caps)