Tom and Ben Curry will start for England together for the first time on Saturday against Ireland with Steve Borthwick unleashing the back-row twins in his side’s Six Nations opener against Ireland in Dublin.
Elsewhere, the Harlequins winger Cadan Murley will make his debut on the left wing after he was preferred to Ollie Sleightholme and Elliot Daly. Luke Cowan-Dickie makes his first start since November 2022 at hooker while Alex Mitchell starts at scrum-half.
The 26-year-old Currys will make history as the first twin brothers to start together for England. They have never represented their country together at senior level before despite both being in the squad against New Zealand in November. During that narrow defeat, Ben replaced Tom so Saturday will mark the first time they have taken the field together in England colours. Tom will line up at blindside flanker with Ben at openside. The latter has been in excellent form for Sale and Borthwick will have been impressed with how the twins dovetailed in Sale’s 38-0 win at Bristol in late December.
With Ben Earl keeping his place at No 8, Borthwick is set to opt for a dynamic back-row with an emphasis on breakdown ability. Ollie Chessum takes his place on a 6-2 bench and provides cover at lock and flanker, having made only one appearance since sustaining a knee injury in October. As reported by the Guardian, Tom Willis, the Saracens No 8, is also on the bench and set for a second cap, having won a first in August 2023.
Mitchell’s return to the side is a major boost for Borthwick. He missed the disappointing autumn campaign with a neck injury but has looked sharp for Northampton. He gave Borthwick a sizeable scare when picking up a knee injury in Saints’ Champions Cup victory over Munster earlier this month but was passed fit on Monday. He rekindles his half-back partnership with Marcus Smith, who continues at fly-half, while Freddie Steward returns to the side at full-back. Borthwick has said he was considering shifting Smith to the No 15 and deploying Steward on the wing but that is now a more likely prospect either in the second half against Ireland or later in the tournament.
Up front, Ellis Genge and Will Stuart join Cowan-Dickie in the front row. The former captain Jamie George is absent with a hamstring injury but Cowan-Dickie is believed to have been in strong contention to start anyway on the back of some impressive form for Sale. The new captain, Maro Itoje, lines up with George Martin in the second row while Henry Slade and Ollie Lawrence are at centre and Tommy Freeman is on the right wing.
On a particularly callow bench that boasts just 81 caps between them, Fin Baxter, Theo Dan and Joe Heyes provide front-row cover while Chandler Cunningham-South, Harry Randall and Fin Smith are also among the replacements. George Ford misses out entirely as a result while Raffi Quirke, who was thought to be under consideration for a place on the bench, has been ruled out with a hamstring injury.
“We’re looking forward to the challenge of facing the tournament favourites,” said 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.”