Courtney Lawes will captain England in their opening Rugby World Cup fixture on Saturday against Argentina, with Alex Mitchell starting at scrum-half and Lewis Ludlam named among the replacements.
Head coach Steve Borthwick today named his team for the clash at Stade de Marseille (kick-off: 8pm BST) which will be broadcast live on ITV Sport.
Northampton Saints will be well represented within the Red Rose’s line-up, with Lawes leading out the side for his 101st England cap and lining up in the back row.
Mitchell earns his seventh international cap in the No.9 jersey, meanwhile Saints skipper Ludlam (21 caps) will hope to make an impact off the bench.
“With an excellent week of preparation in Le Touquet, the players are now looking forward to starting their Rugby World Cup campaign under the lights in Marseille on Saturday,” said Borthwick.
“After a number of impressive performances in the last 12 months by Argentina, we know that the first game in our pool will provide a stern test.”
Steve Borthwick, England Head Coach
“This great tournament provides an excitingly special opportunity for our players, who I know, as ever, will be giving their all in front of our travelling support in the south of France.”
ENGLAND v ARGENTINA
Saturday 9 September 2023
Stade de Marseille
Kick-off: 8pm (BST)
15 Freddie Steward (Leicester Tigers, 26 caps)
14 Jonny May (Gloucester Rugby, 73 caps)
13 Joe Marchant (Stade Francais, 19 caps)
12 Manu Tuilagi (Sale Sharks, 53 caps)
11 Elliot Daly (Saracens, 59 caps)
10 George Ford – vice-captain (Sale Sharks, 85 caps)
9 Alex Mitchell (Northampton Saints, 6 caps)
1 Ellis Genge – vice-captain (Bristol Bears, 52 caps)
2 Jamie George (Saracens, 79 caps)
3 Dan Cole (Leicester Tigers, 102 caps)
4 Maro Itoje (Saracens, 70 caps)
5 Ollie Chessum (Leicester Tigers, 11 caps)
6 Courtney Lawes – captain (Northampton Saints, 100 caps)
7 Tom Curry (Sale Sharks, 45 caps)
8 Ben Earl (Saracens, 18 caps)
Replacements:
16 Theo Dan (Saracens, 3 caps)
17 Joe Marler (Harlequins, 82 caps)
18 Will Stuart (Bath Rugby, 29 caps)
19 George Martin (Leicester Tigers, 3 caps)
20 Lewis Ludlam (Northampton Saints, 21 caps)
21 Danny Care (Harlequins, 90 caps)
22 Marcus Smith (Harlequins, 24 caps)
23 Ollie Lawrence (Bath Rugby, 14 caps)
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