The China Mail - England name Curry twins to face Ireland in Six Nations

The 26-year-old flankers, who both play for English Premiership club Sale, will fill the flanker positions either side of number eight Ben Earl.

Cadan Murley will make his debut on the left wing after being given the nod ahead of Ollie Sleightholme, who filled the position in England's most recent outing against Japan in November.

Alex Mitchell has recovered from a knee problem to start at scrum-half, with Marcus Smith at fly-half and Freddie Steward at full-back.

Head coach Steve Borthwick has opted for a six-two split between forwards and backs on the bench with Ollie Chessum, Chandler Cunningham-South and Tom Willis set to provide heavyweight reinforcements in the second half.

Maro Itoje, who has replaced Jamie George as captain, will skipper England for the first time.

The Curry brothers' only previous appearance in an England matchday 23 came against New Zealand in November but with Ben replacing Tom in the second half, they were not present on the field at the same time.

"We're looking forward to the challenge of facing the tournament favourites," Borthwick said on Tuesday.

"We know it'll be a tough contest against a team that's very familiar with each other. We'll need to work tirelessly and maintain our discipline from the first whistle to the last."

Borthwick was hit by a string of withdrawals last week, with Jamie George, Alex Coles, Alex Dombrandt and Jack van Poortvliet all dropping out of the squad.

England won just five of their 12 Tests in 2024, a sequence that included five straight defeats and three losses in a row at Twickenham.

They were the only side to beat Ireland in last year's tournament but have not beaten the Irish in Dublin since 2019.

England (15-1)

Freddie Steward; Tommy Freeman, Ollie Lawrence, Henry Slade, Cadan Murley; Marcus Smith, Alex Mitchell; Ben Earl, Ben Curry, Tom Curry; George Martin, Maro Itoje (capt); Will Stuart, Luke Cowan-Dickie, Ellis Genge

Replacements: Theo Dan, Fin Baxter, Joe Heyes, Ollie Chessum, Chandler Cunningham-South, Tom Willis, Harry Randall, Fin Smith

Coach: Steve Borthwick (ENG)

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