Smith at fly-half as Cunningham-South makes first start
Marcus Smith starts at fly-half and Chandler Cunningham-South at flanker as Steve Borthwick names a strong England side to face Eddie Jones’ Japan in Tokyo on Saturday.
Cunningham-South, 21, makes his first Test start, while Sale wing Tom Roebuck is set for a debut from the bench.
Marcus Smith starts over namesake Fin, with Northampton’s Premiership title winner among the replacements.
It is the first time England will play a Test match against the Blossoms in Japan.
“We’re looking forward to the challenge of playing Japan at their national stadium,” said Borthwick.
“Conditions in Tokyo mean we’ll need to be accurate, keep our discipline, and maintain a level of intensity in our performance from the first whistle to the last.
“We will need to be at our very best against an opponent who will want to play fast.”
Hooker Jamie George captains the team with Bevan Rodd and Dan Cole alongside him in the front row.
It is George’s first tour as captain having led England during the 2024 Six Nations.
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“I feel comfortable and have felt comfortable from the start, it is easy when you have a group like this who are so keen and are having to be pulled back,” George told BBC Sport.
“That’s a nice place to be as a captain. I am also very lucky to have the coaching staff that we do who are so attentive and their attention to detail is absolutely second to none. They make my life very, very easy.
“I also have some very experienced guys, but also some young guys with huge leadership potential in Ben Earl, Marcus Smith and people like that, who you can give the reins to a little bit. That is hugely exciting.”
George Martin and Maro Itoje are the locks, with Sam Underhill and Ben Earl joining Cunningham-South in the back row.
The backline has a familiar look from the Six Nations, with Alex Mitchell at scrum-half, Henry Slade and Ollie Lawrence in the midfield, and Immanuel Feyi-Waboso, Tommy Freeman and George Furbank making up a lively back three.
“We had a big flip in emphasis on the way we want to attack [through the Six Nations],” said Slade.
“We realised if we did a little bit more focus on attack what we could do. Some of the players in the team have unbelievable X-factor, talent, speed and power. So it was just about getting the ball out to those boys.
“You’ve got boys like Manny [Feyi-Waboso] and Tommy Freeman in the outside channels. Some of those boys are unbelievable runners, so we [need to] get the ball in their hands and let them do what they can do.
“We started to do that during the end of the campaign and long may it continue.”
England: Furbank, Feyi-Waboso, Slade, Lawrence, Freeman, M Smith, Mitchell, Rodd, George (capt), Cole, Itoje, Martin, Cunningham-South, Underhill, Earl
Replacements: Dan, Marler, Stuart, Ewels, T Curry, Randall, F Smith, Roebuck
‘A win feels essential for England’ – analysis
With Eddie Jones determined to start his second spell in charge of Japan with a bang – and get one over his old team in the process – Steve Borthwick is taking no chances with his team selection.
Eleven of the starting XV lined up in England’s last Six Nations game against France, and by picking his strongest side regardless of when they arrived in camp, Borthwick is making a clear signal of intent.
With so many big names moving on since the Rugby World Cup, England are at the start of a new era.
However, a new-look and cohesive side is starting to form. It is led by Jamie George and other senior players such as Dan Cole and Maro Itoje, but with figures like Ben Earl and Ollie Lawrence becoming more and more prominent, and youngsters like George Martin, Immanuel Feyi-Waboso and Tommy Freeman coming through.
Picking up the momentum gathered at the end of the Six Nations is the challenge for England. A win on Saturday against Japan feels essential with two Tests against New Zealand in New Zealand to follow.
