Anthony Watson starts for England against Wales, as Underhill misses out

Anthony Watson has recovered from a calf injury to start for England for the first time in the 2020 Six Nations.

The England wing replaces Jonathan Joseph in the back three for the match against Wales at Twickenham.

Watson has missed the matches against France, Scotland and Ireland so far in the Six Nations due to a calf injury he sustained prior to the opening weekend fixture in Paris.

Surprisingly, there is no place in the matchday-23 for Watson’s Bath teammate Sam Underhill, with Mark Wilson starting at openside flanker.

Courtney Lawes and Tom Curry keep their places in the back row, with no explanation yet given for Underhill’s absence.

Head coach Eddie Jones has named an unchanged tight five which contributed to England’s pack getting on top of Ireland in their 24-12 win at Twickenham prior to the fallow week.

The half-backs remain the same as experienced duo Ben Youngs and George Ford continue.

And the same applies to the midfield where Owen Farrell will lead England against Wales from inside centre, with Manu Tuilagi donning the No.13 shirt.

England have won four of their last five meetings with Wales, and for Jones it will be the first time his side have faced a Wayne Pivac-coached Wales side.

“We’ve had a really good two week preparation – a fallow week in Oxford where we had good training days last Thursday and Friday and three good training days this week culminating in a very good session Wednesday,” Jones said.

“Wales are a very tough, well-coached side and they’ve been building on their attack since Wayne Pivac has taken over.

“It’s always a tough game against Wales and we know they will bring that toughness to all the contest areas.

“We’re looking forward to playing at home again and getting back out in front of our fantastic fans.”

England squad to play Wales at Twickenham (Saturday, 4:45pm kick-off)

England: 15 Elliot Daly, 14 Anthony Watson, 13 Manu Tuilagi, 12 Owen Farrell (capt), 11 Jonny May, 10 George Ford, 9 Ben Youngs; 1 Joe Marler, 2 Jamie George, 3 Kyle Sinckler, 4 Maro Itoje, 5 George Kruis, 6 Courtney Lawes, 7 Mark Wilson, 8 Tom Curry

Replacements: 16 Luke Cowan-Dickie, 17 Ellis Genge, 18 Will Stuart, 19 Joe Launchbury, 20 Charlie Ewels, 21 Ben Earl, 22 Willi Heinz, 23 Henry Slade