Jamie George will captain England in their Six Nations opener against Wales on Saturday with Maro Itoje named on the bench while Henry Arundell has been selected for a first start in three years.

Itoje missed the start of England’s training camp in Girona to attend his mother’s funeral in Nigeria and Steve Borthwick has opted to name the second row among the replacements. Itoje has a remarkable record of appearing in every minute of England’s matches for the last six Six Nations campaigns but Alex Coles and Ollie Chessum assume second-row duties against Wales.

George attended the Six Nations launch in Edinburgh last week in Itoje’s absence and will lead England on Saturday on his own for the first time since the autumn of 2024, having shared the role with George Ford on last summer’s tour of Argentina. The last time Itoje was named among the replacements was against Fiji last autumn when Ellis Genge took the responsibility. Genge has been named vice-captain along with Ford for Saturday’s fixture. It is understood that Itoje will assume the role as soon as he enters the field.

England’s victory over Fiji also marked Arundell’s last appearance – an eye-catching cameo in which he scored a fine late try – and the 23-year-old comes on to the left wing for a first start since the 2023 World Cup bronze medal match. Tom Roebuck, who has been nursing a toe injury, is absent from the match-day 23.

Arundell has a fine record of eight tries in 11 appearances and has been revitalised by a move to Bath this season after two trying years at Racing 92. For Johann van Graan’s side he has nine tries in 14 matches this season and, with Immanuel Feyi-Waboso lining up on the right wing, Borthwick has opted for raw pace against a Wales side likely to feature Louis Rees-Zammit.

In the front row, Joe Heyes starts at tighthead prop, joining Genge and George in the front row while the back row is made up of Guy Pepper, Sam Underhill and Ben Earl, meaning Henry Pollock continues to wait for his first start.

Alex Mitchell is at scrum-half while the Northampton pair of Fraser Dingwall and Tommy Freeman start in the centres, as was the case for England’s thumping win over Wales in Cardiff last year. Freddie Steward is at fullback with George Furbank, fit again after a calf problem, overlooked.

While Borthwick has injury problems to contend with in the front row, he has again named a remarkably strong bench that features five British & Irish Lions. Itoje is joined by Tom Curry, Pollock, Marcus Smith and Luke Cowan-Dickie while Bevan Rodd and Trevor Davison provide cover at prop. Ben Spencer is the back-up scrum-half in a 6-2 split.

“England versus Wales is always a special occasion in the rugby calendar. It’s a fierce rivalry with a long history, and one that brings a huge challenge every time we meet,” said Borthwick. “We expect Wales to bring a kicking game, so we’ll need to be accurate in how we respond to that challenge. For us, our focus is on executing our game plan and maintaining discipline throughout the match. We’re excited to get the Championship underway at a packed-out Allianz Stadium. The support we receive at home is outstanding and always gives the players a huge lift.”