England vs Tonga: Tom Curry starts at No 8; Marcus Smith on bench; Jamie George starts at hooker
Eddie Jones' England XV for Tonga Test at Twickenham on Saturday (3.15pm kick off): Tom Curry shifted from flanker and picked ahead of Alex Dombrandt at No 8; Marcus Smith on the bench after leg injury so Owen Farrell starts at 10; Jamie George starts at hooker
By Michael Cantillon
Last Updated: 04/11/21 3:02pm
Tom Curry will start at No 8 for England vs Tonga at Twickenham on Saturday, while fly-half Marcus Smith is fit enough only for the bench.
With Billy Vunipola out of the squad and Exeter's Sam Simmonds most recently cut, Harlequins' Alex Dombrandt remained the only specialist No 8 in the squad, but his superb club form has been ignored by Eddie Jones, with Curry shifted from flanker to the back of the scrum.
As a result, Northampton's versatile Courtney Lawes starts at blindside with Bath's Sam Underhill at openside, while Exeter's Jonny Hill joins Maro Itoje in the second row.
Smith starting among the replacements, having struggled this week with a leg injury, means Owen Farrell starts in the halfbacks alongside Ben Youngs, with Henry Slade partnering Manu Tuilagi at centre.
Saracens' Jamie George is in to start at hooker, despite being left out of the original extended England squad behind Jamie Blamire, Luke Cowan-Dickie and Nic Dolly - and subsequently called in after Cowan-Dickie's injury withdrawal.
Elsewhere in the starting XV, Ellis Genge is preferred to Joe Marler at loosehead prop, Newcastle flyer Adam Radwan is in for just his second Test start on the wing, and Leicester's Freddie Steward begins at full-back. Jonny May completes the back three.
Head coach Jones has taken the unusual step of naming three vice-captains for the month's Tests behind skipper Farrell, with Curry, Genge and Lawes all confirmed in the roles on Thursday.
"We've had two good preparation camps in Jersey and Pennyhill Park, worked really hard and we're ready for a tough, physical game," Jones said:
"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."
Northampton scrum-half Alex Mitchell will make his Test debut if he is introduced from the bench, while Quins' Dombrant covers the back row.
England: 15 Freddie Steward, 14 Adam Radwan, 13 Henry Slade, 12 Manu Tuilagi, 11 Jonny May, 10 Owen Farrell (c), 9 Ben Youngs; 1 Ellis Genge, 2 Jamie George, 3 Kyle Sinckler, 4 Maro Itoje, 5 Jonny Hill, 6 Courtney Lawes, 7 Sam Underhill, 8 Tom Curry.
Replacements: 16 Jamie Blamire, 17 Joe Marler, 18 Will Stuart, 19 Charlie Ewels, 20 Alex Dombrandt, 21 Alex Mitchell, 22 Marcus Smith, 23 George Furbank.
