Six Nations team news: Maro Itoje returns to England starting XV for Calcutta Cup, Marcus Smith left out of the squad
Updated 13/02/2026 at 09:49 GMT
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Here is all the latest Six Nations team news, with Maro Itoje set to return to the England starting XV for their meeting with Scotland and Marcus Smith left out of the squad. England are hoping to record their second consecutive win of the Championship after they stormed to an impressive 48-7 win against Wales last weekend. Itoje comes in to the XV for Alex Coles, who drops to the bench.
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England captain Maro Itoje will return to England’s starting XV for their Six Nations clash with Scotland at Murrayfield on Saturday.
The Saracens' second row was named on the bench for his side’s emphatic 48-7 victory over Wales in their opening match of the Championship, but will return to the engine room alongside Ollie Chessum for the Calcutta Cup.
Itoje’s inclusion is one of three changes that Steve Borthwick has made to the squad for England’s second game of the Six Nations.
Borthwick insists England have to keep raising their standards as the tournament progresses.
"Playing Scotland at Murrayfield is always a fantastic occasion and a challenge we are relishing," said Borthwick.
"We made a pleasing start to the Championship, but we understand that we must continue to raise our standards.
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"The squad has trained with focus and determination this week, and we’re excited for the opportunity to test ourselves again on Saturday."
Itoje’s inclusion means Alex Coles drops to the bench. The other alteration to the forward pack sees Luke Cowan-Dickie start at hooker ahead of the experienced Jamie George, who is named on the bench after captaining the team to victory last weekend.
The other change comes on the bench, with Finn Smith coming in for Marcus Smith as one of the replacements for the backs.
Full-back Freddie Steward is joined in the back three by Tom Roebuck and Henry Arundell.
Tommy Freeman and Fraser Dingwall make up the midfield, with George Ford and Alex Mitchell completing the back line.
Ellis Genge and Joe Heyes start alongside Cowan-Dickie in the front row.
The back row is comprised of Guy Pepper, Sam Underhill and Ben Earl.
Starting XV: 15. Steward; 14. Roebuck, 13. Freeman, 12. Dingwall, 11. Arundell; 10. Ford, 9. Mitchell; 1. Genge, 2. Cowan-Dickie, 3. Heyes, 4. Chessum, 5. Itoje, 6. Pepper, 7. Underhill, 8. Earl.
Replacements: 16. George, 17. Rodd, 18. Davison, 19. Coles, 20. Pollock, 21. Curry, 22. Spencer, 23. F Smith.
Scotland, meanwhile, make four changes, with head coach Gregor Townsend selecting Nathan McBeth, George Turner, Gregor Brown and Jamie Ritchie.
Starting XV: 15. Jordan, 14. Steyn, 13. Jones, 12. Tuipulotu, 11. Dobie, 10. Russell, 9. White; 1. McBeth, 2. Turner, 3. Z Fagerson, 4. Brown, 5. Cummings, 6. Ritchie, 7. Darge, 8. Dempsey.
Replacements: 16. Cherry, 17. Schoeman, 18. Millar Mills, 19. Williamson, 20. M Fagerson, 21. Horne, 22. Hastings, 23. Graham.
Ireland make six changes after France loss
Ireland prepare for their first home match, against Italy in Dublin, looking to bounce back from defeat against France last time out.
James Lowe has been recalled on the wing, while Robert Baloucoune and Craig Casey also come in alongside James Ryan, Cormac Izuchukwu and Jack Conan.
"Saturday provides us with a great opportunity in front of a packed home crowd at Aviva Stadium. We’ve had some great battles against Italy in recent years and Saturday will be no different," head coach Andy Farrell said.
Starting XV: 15. Osborne; 14. Baloucoune, 13. Ringrose, 12. McCloskey, 11. Lowe; 10. S Prendergast, 9. Casey; 1. Loughman, 2. Sheehan, 3. Clarkson; 4. McCarthy, 5. Ryan; 6. Izuchukwu, 7. Doris, 8. Conan.
Replacements: 16. Kelleher, 17. O'Toole, 18. Furlong, 19. Edogbo, 20. Beirne, 21. Timoney, 22. Gibson-Park, 23. Crowley.
Wales make four changes after heavy England defeat
Wales head coach Steve Tandy has tweaked his side for Sunday's clash with France in Cardiff.
Olly Cracknell is given a Six Nations debut at No. 8 and props Rhys Carre and Tomas Francis replace Nicky Smith and Archie Griffin in the front row.
In the backline, Joe Hawkins replace Ben Thomas at inside centre.
"There are a few changes for this week. A lot of it is based on who we are playing and then Olly Cracknell has done a full training week this week and also played really well in the autumn," Tandy said.
"We were bitterly disappointed with the performance last week. We've addressed it in meetings. The boys were open and honest around the fact that we didn't put ourselves on the game.
"We’re excited to get back to Principality Stadium. We had four games in the autumn and the crowd was incredible. I know I've spoken a lot about the New Zealand game - the crowd, the energy it brought and the response from players."
Starting XV: 15. Louis Rees-Zammit; 14. Ellis Mee, 13. Eddie James, 12. Joe Hawkins, 11. Josh Adams; 10. Dan Edwards, 9. Tomos Williams; 1. Rhys Carre, 2. Dewi Lake (c), 3. Tomas Francis, 4. Dafydd Jenkins, 5. Adam Beard, 6. Aaron Wainwright, 7. Alex Mann,8. Olly Cracknell.
Replacements: 16. Ryan Elias, 17. Nicky Smith, 18. Archie Griffin, 19. Ben Carter, 20. Taine Plumtree, 21. Kieran Hardy, 22. Jarrod Evans, 23. Mason Grady.
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