"We're all aware of that recent record" – Steve Borthwick names England team to play Scotland in Six Nations
02/18/2025 12:25 PM
England head coach Steve Borthwick has named his squad to take on Scotland, with the Calcutta Cup on the line this Saturday in Twickenham. There is plenty on the line as Scotland will arrive at the Allianz Stadium for the third round of the 2025 Guinness Men’s Six Nations, with their sights set on a history making fifth consecutive win over England.
Find your local Greene King and settle in for the 2025 Six Nations!
Borthwick has made just one change to his side, with consistency and cohesion key in his selections for the weekend. The sole change sees Ollie Chessum start in the second row, with George Martin dropped down to the bench having had an injury impacted training week. It’s a straight swap for the Leicester Tigers locks, with the rest of the match day squad unchanged from the team who beat France in the second round of the tournament.
ENGLAND TEAM TO PLAY SCOTLAND: 2025 GUINNESS MEN’S SIX NATIONS
15. Marcus Smith 14. Tommy Freeman 13. Ollie Lawrence 12. Henry Slade 11. Ollie Sleightholme 10. Fin Smith 9. Alex Mitchell 1. Ellis Genge 2. Luke Cowan-Dickie 3. Will Stuart 4. Maro Itoje 5. Ollie Chessum 6. Tom Curry 7. Ben Earl 8. Tom Willis
16. Jamie George 17. Fin Baxter 18. Joe Heyes 19. George Martin 20. Chandler Cunningham-South 21. Ben Curry 22. Harry Randall 23. Elliot Daly
The England head coach spoke to the media this afternoon from England’s training centre in Surrey, and gave an insight into the preparations for the Calcutta Cup clash. Here are the biggest talking points from the press conference.
1. Ollie Chessum starts for at lock for England with George Martin on the bench
STEVE BORTHWICK: “The first thing is the consistency across the 23, which is important as we build a togetherness with this England team. I think Ollie Chessum, the change coming from the bench into the starting team, he’s been building really well and he’s got better and better each week.
“We all saw his impact off the bench in the France Test. George Martin didn’t train last week but he’s played really well. We’ve got three fantastic locks there in Maro (Itoje), Ches (Chessum) and George (Martin).”
2. Borthwick’s long term plans to build England’s attack ahead of 2027 Rugby World Cup
STEVE BORTHWICK: “It’s an opportunity for all of us to continue to take our game forward. We want to keep building the way we’re trying to play. I think you can see it. I think you saw it in the second half of last year. I think you’ve seen at the start of this Six Nations the way we’re trying to build as a team.
“The way we’re trying to play the game. I think as we build an attack, and you have to build the attack now, you don’t build an attack a year out from a World Cup, so that’s where we’re trying to work towards. This is an important next step for us.”
3. England have changed as a team from the side that lost to Scotland in 2024 Six Nations
STEVE BORTHWICK: “The team’s very different now. Even 12 months ago to the game we played at Murrayfield, you see the changes within our team. You start looking around: Joe Marler and Coley were playing that game, Danny Care started at nine, Ethan Roots and Sam Underhill were in the back row. It’s a very different England team now. The team’s progressed in so many different ways and will continue to do because the players work exceptionally hard.”
4. Four defeats in a row to Scotland – England are aware and talking about the recent losing run
STEVE BORTHWICK: “Clearly, we’re all aware of that recent record. We’re more bothered about here and now. I think Scotland are a very, very smart team. A very well coached team. We need to make sure we play really well this weekend.”
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