• Two rookies in England side to front Georgia

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    Jack Willis and Max Malins will make their Test debuts for England in their Autumn Nations Cup encounter with Georgia at Twickenham on Saturday.

    Fresh off their Six Nations success, England boss Eddie Jones has sprung a selection surprise by picking the uncapped Willis at openside flank.

    Owen Farrell will captain the side at flyhalf and after becoming only the second English men’s player to reach 100 Test caps, against Italy, Ben Youngs retains his starting spot at scrumhalf.

    In the front row, Ellis Genge will play loosehead and Will Stuart makes his first start for England at tighthead, with Jamie George, who reached his 50th cap in Rome, at hooker.  Charlie Ewels and Joe Launchbury complete the tight five.

    Billy Vunipola will continue at No 8, while Maro Itoje will play blindside flank. Henry Slade starts at inside centre with Ollie Lawrence, who made his England debut against Italy, at outside centre. Jonathan Joseph moves to the wing, along with Jonny May, while Elliot Daly returns to the side up at fullback.

    Malins could make his first England appearance after being named as a substitute, along with Tom Curry, Tom Dunn, Ben Earl, Joe Marchant, Dan Robson, Kyle Sinckler and Mako Vunipola.

    ‘We’ve had a really good week of training. We know there are a lot of expectations on us and we’ve applied ourselves hard and put a lot of pressure on ourselves in the early part of this week,’ Jones said.

    ‘Georgia will be a tough opponent, so we have a team with some real power in midfield.  We have a good mix of youth and experience across the squad and they are completely focused on putting in an excellent performance on Saturday.

    ‘We’re looking forward to being back at our home at Twickenham, we are humbled by the opportunity and want to give people a reason to smile during such a tough time for the country.’


    Photo: Getty Images

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    SA Rugby magazine