Henry Arundell, George Ford and Alex Coles have all been named to start for England against Wales in Saturday's Six Nations opener, with captain Maro Itoje held back in reserve on the bench.Â
England named their side three days earlier than required, with Tommy Freeman shifting to centre alongside Northampton Saints team-mate Fraser Dingwall while Joe Heyes starts at tighthead prop with Will Stuart absent through injury.
Hooker Jamie George captains the side with Itoje among the replacements, and the latter is joined on the bench by British and Irish Lions Henry Pollock, Tom Curry, Luke Cowan-Dickie and Marcus Smith.
Lions skipper Itoje missed the start of England's training camp in Girona to attend the funeral of his mother Florence in Nigeria following her death in December.
Inexperienced prop duo Bevan Rood and Trevor Davidson provide bench cover as Steve Borthwick's side deal with a number of front-row injuries.
Full-back Freddie Steward and right wing Immanuel Feyi-Waboso - the latter Cardiff born and raised - complete the back-three alongside Arundell.
Ford starts at fly-half with Northampton's Fin Smith absent from the squad, and is partnered by scrum-half Alex Mitchell at half-back.
Ellis Genge forms the front-row with George and Heyes, while Coles partners Ollie Chessum in the second-row from the start.
The starting back-row named is Guy Pepper, Sam Underhill and Ben Earl.
Bath captain and scrum-half Ben Spencer completes the squad on the bench alongside Cowan-Dickie, Rodd, Davidson, Itoje, Curry, Pollock and Smith as England opt once again for a 6-2 split of forwards to backs.
"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," head coach Borthwick said.
"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."
England: 15 Freddie Steward, 14 Immanuel Feyi-Waboso, 13 Tommy Freeman, 12 Fraser Dingwall, 11 Henry Arundell, 10 George Ford, 9 Alex Mitchell; 1 Ellis Genge, 2 Jamie George (c), 3 Joe Heyes, 4 Alex Coles, 5 Ollie Chessum, 6 Guy Pepper, 7 Sam Underhill, 8 Ben Earl.
Replacements: 16 Luke Cowan-Dickie, 17 Bevan Rodd, 18 Trevor Davison, 19 Maro Itoje, 20 Tom Curry, 21 Henry Pollock, 22 Ben Spencer, 23 Marcus Smith.
Borthwick expects Itoje to be greeted with a "big roar" when the grieving England captain steps off the bench against Wales.
The head coach insists that giving Itoje a supporting role against Wales is the right call in light of recent events.
"We all feel for Maro and his family after the very sad loss of his mum," Borthwick told BBC Sport. "Maro and I talk a lot as you would expect. It is the right thing for him and the team this week.
"Maro was out in Nigeria and arrived back in camp a day or two after everybody else. We made the decision for this game that it's best for him to start on the bench.
"I think he is going to have a massive impact. I also know the crowd when Maro comes to the touchline, I'm sure he will get a big roar."
