England make one change as Chessum starts at lock

Ollie Chessum is set to win his 26th Test cap for England against Scotland

Guinness Men's Six Nations: England v Scotland

Venue: Allianz Stadium, Twickenham Date: Saturday, 22 February Kick-off: 16:45 GMT

Coverage: Listen on BBC Radio 5 Live & BBC Sounds, live text and highlights on BBC Sport website and app; watch on ITV1

Ollie Chessum will make his first England start in nearly a year after being named in the second row for Saturday's Calcutta Cup match against Scotland at Allianz Stadium.

Chessum partners captain Maro Itoje at lock, with George Martin dropping to the bench in the only change to the squad that beat France in round two.

Martin was understood to have had a knee issue following that game but is deemed fit enough to be named on the bench.

Marcus Smith continues at full-back, with Fin Smith starting at fly-half after his man-of-the-match display in the thrilling win against Les Bleus.

Head coach Steve Borthwick has kept faith with Marcus Smith at 15 over Freddie Steward and Elliot Daly, but Scotland could look to test the Harlequins back aerially.

England, who have lost their past four matches against Scotland, are looking to keep alive their title hopes with games against Italy and Wales to come.

Scotland, having won their opening game against Italy, are seeking to bounce back after a disappointing defeat by title favourites Ireland.

Gregor Townsend's side are aiming to win the Calcutta Cup for a record fifth year running, having dominated recent matches.

With two wins and a draw, Scotland have not lost at Twickenham since 2017 - when England retained their Six Nations title and equalled New Zealand's world record for consecutive men's Test wins with a thumping 61-21 victory.

England squad to face Scotland

Starting XV: M Smith; Freeman, Lawrence, Slade, Sleightholme; F Smith, Mitchell; Genge, Cowan-Dickie, Stuart, Itoje (capt), Chessum, T Curry, Earl, Willis.

Replacements: George, Baxter, Heyes, Martin, Cunningham-South, B Curry, Randall, Daly.

Chessum 'like an Allen key'

Chessum has not started for England since he played in the back row during the defeat by France on the final day of last year's Six Nations.

Borthwick has rewarded the Leicester Tigers forward with a starting berth against the Scots following his tireless performance from the bench against Les Bleus earlier this month.

Chessum was also influential in shoring up the line-out, from which England were able to launch an attack which ended with Elliot Daly's match-winning try.

The 24-year-old has endured a torrid time on the sidelines - he was first ruled out of England's summer tour of Japan and New Zealand after shoulder surgery before sustaining a knee injury in the autumn.

Borthwick, who coached Chessum at Leicester before taking charge of England, says the forward's return has boosted the rest of his squad.

"Very early on when I was at Leicester Tigers, he [Chessum] was identified by all the coaches as a guy who was going to grow into a big leadership role," said Borthwick.

"Earlier this season he captained Leicester Tigers for the first time and, from every report I received, did it really well.

"He's grown into a line-out leader and caller which wasn't something he'd done previously. He's applying himself diligently to do that.

"All that points to a guy who wants to improve himself. He has the respect of everybody. He's had a couple of injury setbacks and worked incredibly diligently to get back.

"When he walked back into the squad you could see how happy everyone else was. He has a presence and a positivity about him that rubs off on everyone else."

Meanwhile, former England wing Chris Ashton says Chessum's versatility is a useful tool for Borthwick's side.

"[Chessum] is like an Allen key, he just sorts everything out," Ashton told BBC Rugby Union Daily.

"That ruck needs clearing - 'I'll sort that.' He needs an inside carry - 'I'll get on that.'

"Line-out jump? 'Yeah I'll do that.' Kick-chase? 'I'll go back and get that.'

"He does things that people don't even notice but you need these people that make the team tick by the amount of work he does."