Brothers Tom and Ben Curry will start together for England for the first time in the side that takes on Ireland in Saturday’s Six Nations opener at the Aviva Stadium.
The team also sees lock Maro Itoje captain England from the start of a Test for the first time, becoming the 136th player to do so in the history of England rugby.
Luke Cowan-Dickie starts at hooker with former captain Jamie George ruled out with a hamstring injury, while wing Cadan Murley will make his Test debut in a back-three with Tommy Freeman and Freddie Steward.
The front row is then made up of Ellis Genge at loosehead prop and Will Stuart at tighthead, with George Martin partnering skipper Itoje in the second row, and Ben Earl at No 8 completing the pack alongside the 26-year-old Curry twins in the back row.
Alex Mitchell and Marcus Smith will link up once again in the half-backs, while Ollie Lawrence and Henry Slade will play in the centres.
Theo Dan, Fin Baxter, Joe Heyes, Ollie Chessum, Chandler Cunningham-South, Tom Willis, Harry Randall and Fin Smith then make up the replacements’ bench, with six forwards and two backs.
“We’re looking forward to the challenge of facing the tournament favourites,” said head coach Steve Borthwick.
“We know it’ll be a tough contest against a team that’s very familiar with each other. We’ll need to work tirelessly and maintain our discipline from the first whistle to the last.
“England versus Ireland in Dublin is a huge occasion, and we’ll be ready to face it head-on.”
England team vs Ireland
Starting XV: 15 Freddie Steward, 14 Tommy Freeman, 13 Ollie Lawrence, 12 Henry Slade, 11 Cadan Murley, 10 Marcus Smith, 9 Alex Mitchell; 1 Ellis Genge, 2 Luke Cowan-Dickie, 3 Will Stuart, 4 Maro Itoje (c) 5 George Martin, 6 Tom Curry, 7 Ben Curry, 8 Ben Earl.
Replacements: 16 Theo Dan, 17 Fin Baxter, 18 Joe Heyes, 19 Ollie Chessum, 20 Chandler Cunningham-South, 21 Tom Willis, 22 Harry Randall, 23 Fin Smith.
Six Nations 2025 fixtures: England
- February 1: Ireland (a)
- February 8: France (h)
- February 22: Scotland (h)
- March 9: Italy (h)
- March 15: Wales (a)
‘Murley’s debut a big surprise’
Cadan Murley has been in outstanding form for Harlequins this season
Sky Sports News reporter James Cole:
“The big surprise in this England team to face Ireland is Cadan Murley’s debut on the wing. The Harlequins player has been in outstanding form this season.
“He’s scored 10 tries in 12 games, including two for England A against Australia A back in autumn.
“Murley possesses out-and-out electric pace, something few England wingers have in recent times, and all the signs are that he has the all-round game to thrive at Test level.
“In the back row, the inclusion of the Curry twins to play together for England for the first time has raised eyebrows.
“It suggests England will be targeting the breakdown in a big way, trying to prevent the Irish from getting that green machine motoring.
“Both Ben and Tom Curry are dynamic, powerful and very much in form, but with Ben Earl keeping his place at No 8 – ahead of Tom Willis – it does mean England have a relatively short back row, with no line-out specialist.
“The other interesting, albeit subtle, selection tweak comes in the centres, where Henry Slade and Ollie Lawrence will continue their partnership, but they’ve switched positions.
“Lawrence has moved from inside to outside centre, the position where he excels at Bath.
“The Lawrence-Slade partnership has been compared to the Gerrard-Lampard conundrum in football of years gone by, where they’re two excellent individuals but when paired at international level, it hasn’t taken off.
“The hope is by switching positions – Lawrence moving to 13, Slade to 12 – that will remedy the issue.
“England kick-off their Six Nations campaign in Dublin this Saturday. They haven’t won there since 2019.”
