Tom Curry has been named as England captain for their opening Six Nations match against Scotland at Murrayfield on Saturday.
Curry takes over from the injured Courtney Lawes, while Joe Marchant has returned to the side on the left wing after completing COVID-19 isolation protocols.
Curry, 23, is the youngest captain since Will Carling in 1988. He leads a side who must do without Lawes and Jonny Hill in the middle of the scrum.
Lawes is still recovering from concussion while Hill has a stress fracture, adding them to an injury list that already includes Owen Farrell, Manu Tuilagi and Jonny May.
Elliot Daly and Henry Slade have been given the nod as centre pairing, with Daly starting only his second match for England at outside centre more than five years since his first in 2016 against South Africa
No. 8 Sam Simmonds makes his first start for England since 2018, while Nick Isiekwe partners Maro Itoje in the second row. Ellis Genge starts ahead of Joe Marler at prop.
“As the first game, this match is hugely important to both sides and we will both want to get off to a winning start,” coach Eddie Jones said.
“Tom Curry will captain the side for this game and has the respect of the team around him, in Owen and Courtney’s absence. He also has the support of the vice captains and other leaders in the team such as Maro Itoje and Ben Youngs,” he added.
“We have prepared really well for this game. We’ve had a number of obstacles thrown at us, but we’ve overcome them as a more together group and we’re looking forward to getting started.”
Meanwhile, Scotland head coach Gregor Townsend handed a start to lock Jonny Gray, will make his first Test appearance in almost a year.
The Exeter Chiefs player will partner Grant Gilchrist in the second row and along with the return of prop Rory Sutherland, brings added experience in the pack for what is likely to be a bruising battle up front.
“The starting 15 we have named has a consistent feel to it which is great for cohesion but we will also benefit from returning players such as Jonny Gray and Rory Sutherland, who have been important players for us in recent seasons,” Townsend said in a statement.
Sutherland will partner Zander Fagerson and hooker George Turner in the front row, while the back three in the scrum are flankers Jamie Ritchie and Hamish Watson alongside No. 8 Matt Fagerson.
Fly-half Finn Russell will look to control the game alongside scrumhalf Ali Price, while the centre pairing is Sam Johnson and Chris Harris.
Captain Stuart Hogg is at fullback and will be a dangerous runner, hoping to work in tandem with wingers Darcy Graham and Duhan van der Merwe.
Uncapped London Irish scrumhalf Ben White could make his debut off the bench.
“Ben White has been in very good form for London Irish and has trained well in the last two weeks, so can approach his first involvement at test level with real confidence,” Townsend said.
England XV:
Freddie Steward, Max Malins, Elliot Daly, Henry Slade, Joe Marchant, Marcus Smith, Ben Youngs, Ellis Genge, Luke Cowan-Dickie, Kyle Sinckler, Maro Itoje, Nick Isiekwe, Lewis Ludlam, Tom Curry (C), Sam Simmonds.
Replacements: Jamie George, Joe Marler, Will Stuart, Charlie Ewels, Alex Dombrandt, Harry Randall, George Ford, Jack Nowell.
Scotland XV:
Stuart Hogg, Darcy Graham, Chris Harris, Sam Johnson, Duhan van der Merwe, Finn Russell, Ali Price, Matt Fagerson, Hamish Watson, Jamie Ritchie, Grant Gilchrist, Jonny Gray, Zander Fagerson, George Turner, Rory Sutherland
Replacements: Stuart McInally, Pierre Schoeman, WP Nel, Magnus Bradbury, Ben White, Blair Kinghorn, Sione Tuipulotu