Stuart Lancaster names unchanged England team for Scotland clash
AN UNCHANGED team was England coach Stuart Lancaster's preference after last Saturday's defeat in France and with Jonny May passed fit that is what Lancaster has been able to deliver for Saturday's Calcutta Cup match in Scotland.
May will be playing with a broken nose - without any protective cover - and it is hard to imagine he will not take a bang in exactly the same arena at Murrayfield.
But, May included, Lancaster wants another look at the back-line who took on the French.
The pack needs less consideration. With Alex Corbisiero injured and Joe Marler established as Lancaster's preference in Corbisiero's loose-head prop position, these are the eight who have gone toe to toe with both New Zealand and France.
Defeat in the first Six Nations fixture for the first time during Lancaster's two-year tenure leaves England seeking to emulate Wales last year by going on to take the title after an inauspicious beginning.
The Scots failed to impress in any way in their heavy defeat in Ireland and, even allowing for the narrow squeak in Edinburgh in Lancaster's first game in charge two years ago, if England play as they did in Paris victory should be theirs.
They then have their main rivals, Wales and Ireland, at Twickenham before finishing in Italy. So the hope is realistic though the expected poor weather in Scotland on Saturday will not fit in with England's developing attacking game.
Nor will the state of the Murrayfield pitch, infested by nematodes, having to be treated with garlic and to be replaced by an artificially enhanced surface as soon as the season ends.
"It's good to be able to select the same players and they are all determined to put last week's result behind them and build on the performance," said Lancaster.
"Scotland will be hugely motivated by their defeat in Dublin and, as we found two years ago, Murrayfield is a tough place to play."
England (v Scotland): M Brown (Harlequins); J Nowell (Exeter), L Burrell (Northampton), W Twelvetrees (Gloucester), J May (Gloucester); O Farrell (Saracens), D Care (Harlewuins); J Marler (Harlequins), D Hartley (Northampton), D Cole (Leicester), J Launchbury (Wasps), C Lawes (Northampton), T Wood (Northampton), C Robshaw (Harlequins, capt), V Vunipola (Saracens).
Replacements: T Youngs (Leicester), M Vunipola (Saracens), H Thomas (Sale), D Attwood (Bath), B Morgan (Gloucester), L Dickson (Northampton), B Barritt (Saracens), A Goode (Saracens).