Maro Itoje back as England captain for Six Nations game at Murrayfield

Maro Itoje will lead England into Saturday’s Guinness Six Nations clash with Scotland after being restored to the starting XV for the trip to Murrayfield.

Itoje was named on the bench for the 48-7 victory over Wales that launched the tournament following the recent death of his mother, but now returns to the second row at the expense of Alex Coles.

The England skipper came on in the 50th minute of the Allianz Stadium opener and was sin-binned almost immediately because of an accumulation of offences from his side.

Jamie George was captain in his absence but the Saracens hooker is given a replacement’s role against Scotland, with Luke Cowan-Dickie filling the number two jersey in the second and final change to the starting XV.

The backline that ran riot against Wales has been retained, with Fraser Dingwall and Tommy Freeman continuing their all-Northampton centre partnership.

Henry Arundell, who ran in a hat-trick of tries against Wales, resumes on the left wing with Tom Roebuck taking the number 14 jersey. Both selections were made easier after Immanuel Feyi-Waboso was ruled out by a hamstring injury.

There is a third change to a bench that now contains George and Coles, with Fin Smith present ahead of Marcus Smith.

Fin Smith sat out the visit of Wales because of a calf issue but has made a full recovery and so displaces his namesake from one of the two backline spots among the replacements.

Head coach Steve Borthwick continues with a six-two split between forwards and backs.

Should full-back Freddie Steward come off, Roebuck or Freeman will deputise in the backfield with Fin Smith providing cover at inside centre.

There is no place in the matchday 23 for Ollie Lawrence even though the Bath centre has shaken off a knee problem.

England wrestled back the Calcutta Cup with a 16-15 victory at Twickenham last year and now their goal is to clinch a first win in Edinburgh since 2020.

“Playing Scotland at Murrayfield is always a fantastic occasion and a challenge we are relishing,” Borthwick said.

“We made a pleasing start to the Championship, but we understand that we must continue to raise our standards. The squad has trained with focus and determination this week and we’re excited for the opportunity to test ourselves again on Saturday.”

England team: F Steward (Leicester); T Roebuck (Sale), T Freeman (Northampton), F Dingwall (Northampton), H Arundell (Bath); G Ford (Sale), A Mitchell (Northampton); E Genge (Bristol), L Cowan-Dickie (Sale), J Heyes (Leicester), M Itoje (Saracens, capt), O Chessum (Leicester), G Pepper (Bath), S Underhill (Bath), B Earl (Saracens).

Replacements: J George (Saracens), B Rodd (Sale), T Davison (Northampton), A Coles (Northampton), T Curry (Sale), H Pollock (Northampton), B Spencer (Bath), F Smith (Northampton).