The inclusion of No 8 Nathan Hughes is the only change to England’s starting lineup ahead of Saturday’s Six Nations match against Scotland at Murrayfield.

Hughes is back in the side for the first time this year following a knee injury he sustained in December. He replaces Sam Simmonds.

Prop Joe Marler makes his return to action via the bench after serving a six-week suspension for striking an opponent with the shoulder in a Premiership match.

‘Nathan Hughes has worked hard on his fitness. I’ve never seen him in better physical condition so we are looking forward to him playing. He has a key role in defence and in us gaining momentum in attack,’ said coach Eddie Jones.

‘We will need to be very tough and relentless in our defence to keep the pressure on this Scottish team. They are renowned for their attack so we will need to put pressure on them, create opportunities through our defence for our attack, and convert those opportunities to points,’ he added.

England – 15 Mike Brown, 14 Anthony Watson, 13 Jonathan Joseph, 12 Owen Farrell, 11 Jonny May, 10 George Ford, 9 Danny Care, Nathan Hughes, 7 Chris Robshaw, 6 Courtney Lawes, 5 Maro Itoje, 4 Joe Launchbury, 3 Dan Cole, 2 Dylan Hartley (c), 1 Mako Vunipola.
Subs: 16 Jamie George, 17 Joe Marler, 18 Harry Williams, 19 George Kruis, 20 Sam Underhill, 21 Richard Wigglesworth, 22 Ben Te’o, 23 Jack Nowell.

Photo: David Rogers/Getty Images