Nathan Hughes back in England team for Scotland Six Nations clash

Nathan Hughes has been named in England’s starting lineup to face Scotland in the only change made by Eddie Jones for Saturday’s Calcutta Cup clash. The No 8 has played just 23 minutes since sustaining a knee injury in December but slots into the void left by Sam Simmonds, who is sidelined until next month.

Jonathan Joseph keeps his place at outside-centre with Ben Te’o again named on the bench while Owen Farrell stays at inside-centre despite England revealing on Tuesday that he had not fully trained since the victory over Wales. Joe Marler is back in the matchday 23 following his suspension and replaces Alec Hepburn on the bench but there is no place for James Haskell, who drops out along with Bath’s Charlie Ewels.

Hughes’s return to the side is timely after Simmonds’ shoulder injury, though the Wasps No 8 has managed only 90 minutes of rugby in the last three months, having also suffered a bruised knee in England’s autumn victory over Australia. England have repeatedly shown they have no qualms about putting returning players straight back into the starting lineup however, and the ballast Hughes brings will be a welcome addition to Jones’s back row.

“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,” said Jones. “Nathan has a key role in defence and in us gaining momentum in attack.”

The captain Dylan Hartley will become England’s second most capped player, surpassing Jonny Wilkinson’s total of 92, when he lines up alongside Mako Vunipola and Dan Cole in the front row while Joe Launchbury wins his 50th cap in the second row, where he is joined by Maro Itoje. Courtney Lawes and Chris Robshaw are again the flankers while Danny Care and George Ford continue as the halfbacks. Jonny May and Anthony Watson line up on the wings and Mike Brown is at fullback.

England have not lost to Scotland since 2008 and have not conceded a try against their neighbours since 2004. Scotland however, are unbeaten at Murrayfield in the Six Nations since Jones’s first match in charge of England in 2016. “We are really excited about this game and we will need to be very tough and relentless in our defence to keep the pressure on this Scottish team,” said Jones.

“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.

“Our preparation over the last two weeks has been important in that it has allowed us to regenerate the players, improve the fitness of some and to get a clear understanding on how we will play this weekend.”

England team to face Scotland