England coach Eddie Jones on Thursday made two changes to his side to play Wales in the Six Nations on Saturday, with Danny Care set to become England’s most capped scrumhalf and Jonathan Joseph drafted in at centre.
Care will beat Matt Dawson’s record by winning his 78th cap at Twickenham.
He replaces Ben Youngs, who will miss the rest of the championship after suffering knee ligament damage just nine minutes into last Sunday’s 46-15 victory over Italy.
Joseph, who came on as a replacement in Rome, is rewarded for the impact he made in England’s winning start to their Six Nations campaign. He takes the place of Ben Teo’o, who drops to the bench.
Care’s understudy will be 34-year-old Richard Wigglesworth, who will become the second oldest scrumhalf in England history if he comes on as a replacement for his first international appearance since the 2015 World Cup.
“Danny Care very much deserves the honour of being the most capped England scrum half and I am sure he’ll make the most of his opportunity on Saturday,” said Jones in a media statement.
The coach is due to address a news conference later on Thursday.
England have won five of their last six meetings against Wales, who beat Scotland 34-7 in their Six Nations opener.
Team:
15-Mike Brown, 14-Anthony Watson, 13-Jonathan Joseph, 12-Owen Farrell, 11-Jonny May, 10-George Ford, 9-Danny Care, 8-Sam Simmonds, 7-Chris Robshaw, 6-Courtney Lawes, 5-Maro Itoje, 4-Joe Launchbury, 3-Dan Cole, 2-Dylan Hartley (capt), 1-Mako Vunipola
Replacements: 16-Jamie George, 17-Alec Hepburn, 18-Harry Williams, 19-George Kruis, 20-Sam Underhill, 21-Richard Wigglesworth, 22-Ben Te’o, 23- Jack Nowell.
