England v United States: Marcus Smith to make debut, Lewis Ludlow captain

Marcus Smith helped Harlequins win the Premiership title in June

Harlequins fly-half Marcus Smith will make his eagerly awaited England debut, with Gloucester's Lewis Ludlow captain against the United States on Sunday.

The pair are among eight uncapped players in the starting XV, with 12 England internationals in South Africa with the British and Irish Lions.

Head coach Eddie Jones says the game at Twickenham is a chance for players to "make their mark with England".

Prop Ellis Genge will be vice-captain and Sam Underhill starts at flanker.

Underhill missed the 2021 Six Nations because of a hip injury but returns alongside Ludlow and uncapped Newcastle number eight Callum Chick in the back row.

Two years out from the next World Cup, Jones is building a side for the future while so many of his senior players are absent and said he is expecting the first 20 minutes against the United States to be "a tough affair".

"They are always bullish," he told BBC Radio 5 Live.

"We are expecting that Trump-like confidence to come out on Sunday and we're going to have to work hard to put them back in their box."

Eight debutants prepare to 'make their mark'

Bristol scrum-half Harry Randall also makes his England debut, while Wasps fly-half Jacob Umaga awaits his first international cap on the bench.

Quins centre Joe Marchant and number eight Alex Dombrandt are notable absentees from the squad, with Jones saying both were still recovering from the club's Premiership final win on Saturday and would be considered for the game against Canada on 10 July.

In the front row, Sale hooker Curtis Langdon and Leicester prop Joe Heyes join Genge as they make their first England appearances.

Josh McNally makes his international debut in the second row alongside Bath team-mate Charlie Ewels.

Outside centre Henry Slade is the most capped player in the side with 38 caps and is alongside Ollie Lawrence at 12.

Max Malins - who has started for Jones once before at full-back - is on the left wing, while on the right Joe Cokanasiga makes his first England appearance since playing against the United States at the 2019 Rugby World Cup.

Leicester's Freddie Steward, another England debutant, completes the starting XV at full-back.

Uncapped trio Jamie Blamire, Trevor Davison and Ben Curry - twin brother of England star Tom - are among the replacements.

Jones said: "Over the past three weeks our biggest message to the players is what an opportunity this is to show what they can do and make their mark with England."

Gloucester's Lewis Ludlow will be the fifth man to captain England on debut

Jones 'not sure' how Smith will cope with Test rugby

Jones said Smith, 22, had been on his radar since 2015, when the fly-half was still a schoolboy playing at Brighton College.

The England head coach first invited Smith into one of his training sessions two years later and, despite calling up him to training camps several times since, has bided his time before handing the Quins 10 a first cap.

"We've got to understand he's only a very young 10 so he's still got a long way to go in his game," Jones explained.

"Being a Test 10 is always about making good decisions for the team… at 22 he is going to make some bad decisions, as we've seen with most Test 10s.

"At some time playing for England, the whole country is looking at you and every part of your game is examined… we aren't sure how Marcus will cope with that.

"His development as a player will be how quickly his game adapts from club rugby to Test rugby."

Meanwhile Ludlow, who is just the fifth England men's player to be named captain on debut, said he began to wonder if he would ever earn an international cap.

"I was resigned to the fact I just wanted to be a good Gloucester player," the 26-year-old said.

"[Captaining England] is something that will live in the memory forever. I'm just so glad I can have my family and daughter there."

England: Steward; Cokanasiga, Slade, Lawrence, Malins; Smith, Randall; Genge, Langdon, Heyes, McNally, Ewels, Ludlow (capt), Underhill, Chick.

Replacements: Blamire, Obano, Davison, Hill, B Curry, Ludlam, Robson, Umaga.

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