England v Tonga: George Furbank to start at fly-half, Owen Farrell out

Furbank's last Test start was against Italy in October 2020

George Furbank will start at fly-half for England against Tonga at Twickenham, with captain Owen Farrell out because of a positive Covid-19 test.

The decision was announced only 82 minutes before kick-off with 82,000 fans at Twickenham having to wait until the team bus arrived before they knew.

Farrell tested positive on Friday after an England support staff member returned a positive result on Thursday.

Courtney Lawes will captain the side.

Given George Ford was left out of the squad for the autumn, head coach Eddie Jones has been forced to look to the future at fly-half as England build towards the 2023 World Cup.

Fans were keen to see Harlequins star Marcus Smith start at 10, but the 22-year-old had limited training this week because of a minor leg injury and remains on the bench.

Furbank, 25, has four England caps to his name but has only ever started at full-back for the side, coming on at fly-half against Canada in July.

Uncapped Gloucester centre Mark Atkinson, 31, has been called up to the bench to replace Furbank.

Following Saturday's Test, England will face Australia and world champions South Africa on the following two weekends and it is currently unclear whether Farrell will be able to return for those games.

England: Steward; Radwan, Slade, Tuilagi, May; Furbank, Youngs; Genge, George, Sinckler, Itoje, Hill, Lawes (capt), Underhill, Curry.

Replacements: Blamire, Marler, Stuart, Ewels, Dombrandt, Mitchell, Smith, Atkinson.