Fit-again England duo Wilson and Watson return for Wales clash

Fit-again England duo Mark Wilson and Anthony Watson will make their first appearance of the Six Nations against Wales at Twickenham on Saturday.

Wilson replaces the injured Sam Underhill at openside flanker after recovering from a knee problem.

Watson is back on the wing at the expense of Bath team-mate Jonathan Joseph following a spell on the sidelines with a calf injury.

They are the only changes to the XV that started a 24-12 victory over Ireland last time out, as the Rugby World Cup runners-up eye a victory over the defending champions to put the pressure on leaders France.

Eddie Jones named his team on Thursday as the RFU waited to discover whether the final-round match against Italy in Rome on March 14 will be postponed due to the outbreak of coronavirus.

Jones said: “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.

“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.”

We can’t wait for this one #ENGvWAL

Hear from Eddie ahead of this weekend’s match at Twickenham #WearTheRose @o2sports pic.twitter.com/uBc1B6A9AW

— England Rugby (@EnglandRugby) March 5, 2020

England: Elliot Daly, Anthony Watson, Manu Tuilagi, Owen Farrell, Jonny May, George Ford, Ben Youngs; Joe Marler, Jamie George, Kyle Sinckler, Maro Itoje, George Kruis, Courtney Lawes, Mark Wilson, Tom Curry.

Replacements: Luke Cowan-Dickie, Ellis Genge, Will Stuart, Joe Launchbury, Charlie Ewels, Ben Earl, Willi Heinz, Henry Slade.

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