Eight involved in Calcutta Cup

Seven Saracens have been named in the England 23 as they prepare to take on Scotland in the opening round of the 2021 Guinness Six Nations on Saturday (KO 4.45pm).

Owen Farrell will captain his country from fly-half and Elliot Daly takes the 15 jersey while three players make up the core of the scrum.

Hooker Jamie George, lock Maro Itoje and Number 8 Billy Vunipola all start for Eddie Jones’ side.

Ben Earl and Max Malins, both on loan at Bristol Bears, are among the replacements making it five Saracens Academy graduates involved.

Five Academy graduates have been selected by England.

Jones said: “We’re really looking forward to this game and getting the Guinness Six Nations back underway.  It’s even more special to be taking part in a 150th anniversary game, it will be a good occasion.

“It was difficult to pick the 23 players.  We’ve had a really good week of training, it’s been very competitive, but I’ve gone with what I feel is the strongest 23 for this week.

“The Six Nations is a short tournament, it’s a real sprint so we’ll need to be on the front foot straight away. We know Scotland will be raring to go – but so will we.”

Meanwhile Scotland have picked Sean Maitland on the wing for the match.

The New Zealand-born flyer will earn his 51^st cap at Twickenham having debuted with a try against England in 2013.

“This most historic of fixtures against England is a great start to the 2021 Guinness Six Nations and a challenge we will fully embrace with the objective of playing to our potential and ultimately lifting our supporters in these difficult times,” Scotland head coach Gregor Townsend said.

“We learned a lot about ourselves and where the game is going during our Autumn campaign, and we aim to build on this base during the next seven weeks. We are set for a huge challenge against England as we will be facing one of the best teams in the world.

“The opportunity of competing for the Calcutta Cup against our oldest rivals is something to get Scots around the world excited about.”