Marcus Smith on the bench for England's clash with Tonga

Marcus Smith only fit enough to start England’s autumn clash with Tonga on the bench as Eddie Jones hands Owen Farrell the No 10 shirt and picks Tom Curry at No 8 for Twickenham clash

  • Marcus Smith will start on the bench for England when they take on Tonga
  • The Harlequins star has been hampered by a leg injury in the build up
  • Owen Farrell has been handed the No 10 shirt for England’s opening autumn Test
  • Tom Curry will begin at No 8 with Adam Radwan given a start on the wing 
  • England delayed the announcement of the team after a Covid scare in the camp

Owen Farrell has been handed the No 10 shirt for England’s opening autumn Test against Tonga – with Marcus Smith named on the bench.

Farrell will captain the team from fly-half after Eddie Jones opted not to start Smith, who suffered a minor leg injury in training.

Smith will be joined on the bench by Harlequins team-mate Alex Dombrandt, with Tom Curry selected at No 8.

Marcus Smith will start on the bench for England when they take on Tonga at Twickenham

Owen Farrell wil line up at No 10 for England with the experienced Ben Youngs at scrum half

ENGLAND XV: 15. Freddie Steward (Leicester Tigers, 2 caps) 14. Adam Radwan (Newcastle Falcons, 1 cap) 13. Henry Slade (Exeter Chiefs, 40 caps) 12. Manu Tuilagi (Sale Sharks, 43 caps) 11. Jonny May (Gloucester Rugby, 66 caps) 10. Owen Farrell (Saracens, 93 caps) 9. Ben Youngs (Leicester Tigers, 109 caps) 1. Ellis Genge (Leicester Tigers, 30 caps) 2. Jamie George (Saracens, 59 caps) 3. Kyle Sinckler (Bristol Bears, 44 caps) 4. Maro Itoje (Saracens, 48 caps) 5. Jonny Hill (Exeter Chiefs, 9 caps) 6. Courtney Lawes (Northampton Saints, 87 caps) 7. Sam Underhill (Bath Rugby, 24 caps) 8. Tom Curry (Sale Sharks, 33 caps).

FINISHERS: 16. Jamie Blamire (Newcastle Falcons, 2 caps) 17. Joe Marler (Harlequins, 72 caps) 18. Will Stuart (Bath Rugby, 12 caps) 19. Charlie Ewels (Bath Rugby, 23 caps) 20. Alex Dombrandt (Harlequins, 1 cap) 21. Alex Mitchell (Northampton Saints, uncapped) 22. Marcus Smith (Harlequins, 2 caps) 23. George Furbank (Northampton Saints, 4 caps). 

England will unleash a new-look back-three at Twickenham, featuring rookies Freddie Steward and Adam Radwan alongside the experienced Jonny May.

‘We’ve had two good preparation camps in Jersey and Pennyhill Park, worked really hard and we’re ready for a tough, physical game,’ said Jones.

‘We respect Tonga greatly and we know that with props like Siegfried Fisi’ihoi and Ben Tameifuna, we are going to have to go in the front door before the back door.

‘We’re especially looking forward to getting back out in front of a full crowd at Twickenham and playing some entertaining, exciting rugby for all of the supporters, we can’t wait to have them back.’ 

Newcastle’s Adam Radwan will start on one wing with the experienced Jonny May on the other

Eddie Jones had to delay his team announcement on Thursday after a Covid scare in the camp

Henry Slade and Manu Tuilagi will form an experienced centre combination, with Ben Youngs selected at scrum-half.

Up front, Ellis Genge, Jamie George and Kyle Sinckler start in the front-row.

Maro Itoje and Jonny Hill will offer a Lions lock combination, meaning Courtney Lawes moves to flanker alongside Sam Underhill. 


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