England gamble on Furbank for full-back role

ENGLAND have rolled the dice in their bid to reclaim the Calcutta Cup from Scotland by dropping Freddie Steward in favour of George Furbank at full-back.

Steward has been an ever-present under successive England regimes because of his unrivalled ability under the high ball, but having started the opening two rounds of the Guinness Six Nations he is jettisoned from the 23 completely.

The inclusion of Furbank could pay dividends as the Northampton playmaker will provide more of a cutting edge in attack than Steward. But even in the dry conditions expected at Murrayfield tomorrow the selection is gamble.

Furbank has yet to convince in his six caps dating back to 2020 but the 27-year-old is a classy ball player whose skills have helped Saints take the Gallagher Premiership by storm this season.

The decision at full-back is influenced by Ollie Lawrence’s return at inside centre in an injection of ball-carrying clout into the backline.

In total there are five changes to the starting XV that dispatched Wales 16-14 at Twickenham, with Ellis Genge and Dan Cole appearing in the front row in a rotation of the props.

Completing the adjustments is the promotion of Danny Care to scrum-half for his 99th cap.

“We’re pleased with the start we’ve made to our Six Nations campaign but know that a difficult test awaits us in Edinburgh against an in-form Scotland team,” Borthwick said.

“The atmosphere is always special for any Calcutta Cup match and I’m sure this weekend’s game at Murrayfield will be no different.

“This group of players are looking forward to creating some very special memories.”