England team to play Portugal: Charlie Ewels captains A side

RUCK’s 2024 Guinness Six Nations content 

powered by ISUZU.

Scroll down for the England team to play Portugal.

The starting side includes five players already capped at Test level, including Ewels, who has made 30 international appearances. Of the match day 23, 17 have come through the pathway system representing either England U18 or U20.  

The squad, which features some of the biggest names from the Gallagher Premiership, has been training in the East Midlands this week under the leadership of head coach George Skivington, attack coach Sam Vesty and defence coach Dom Waldouck. The coaching trio selected the match day 23 in consultation with England senior men’s head coach Steve Borthwick and RFU Executive Director of Performance Rugby Conor O’Shea.  

If you don't win, don't worry - you get 2 chances to win every day! Have another attempt by simply answering a quick question following your first unsuccessful scratch.

Don't forget to come back every day to try and win big!

“It’s been great to get together with the group this week at Loughborough and I’ve been really impressed by the high standards they’ve shown. We’ve put the boys through a challenging programme that has tested them to the intense rigour that Portugal will arrive with on Sunday. 

“Our visitors are in the midst of the Rugby Europe Championship and will no doubt be using Sunday as an opportunity to experiment, but their strength as a union has been evident recently. They will certainly provide a stern test for us, but it’s a test that the players, Dom, Sam and I are relishing. 

"I am really excited to see the side take to the field against Portugal on Sunday. I really believe we have assembled a squad that possesses some of the most exciting developing talent the Gallagher Premiership has to offer, and I’m sure they’ll put on a show for the fans in Leicester.” 

15. Josh Hodge (Exeter Chiefs) 

14. Cadan Murley (Harlequins) 

13. Oscar Beard (Harlequins) 

12. Max Ojomoh (Bath Rugby) 

11. Will Muir (Bath Rugby) 

10. Charlie Atkinson (Gloucester) 

9. Harry Randall (Bristol Bears) 

1. Fin Baxter (Harlequins) 

2. Jamie Blamire (Newcastle Falcons) 

3. Joe Heyes (Leicester Tigers) 

4. Rusiate Tuima (Exeter Chiefs) 

5. Charlie Ewels (c) (Bath Rugby) 

6. Tom Pearson (Northampton Saints) 

7. Guy Pepper (Newcastle Falcons) 

8. Alfie Barbeary (Bath Rugby) 

Replacements 

16. Sam Riley (Harlequins) 

17. Tarek Haffar (Northampton Saints) 

18. Josh Iosefa-Scott (Exeter Chiefs) 

19. Ben Bamber (Sale Sharks) 

20. Greg Fisilau (Exeter Chiefs) 

21. Caolan Englefield (Gloucester) 

22. Jamie Shillcock (Leicester Tigers) 

23. Oliver Hartley (Saracens)

In his article for The Telegraph, the 74-year-old has chosen six New Zealanders, three Englishmen, two Welsh players, and one each from France, Scotland, and Ireland in his all-time greatest team.

Fullback: JPR Williams (Wales) - "Not a staggeringly original choice, I’ll admit. But to my mind the only one. If I’m going to be picking a dream XV then I want JPR at the back. No question, guarenteed starter."

Left-wing: Jonah Lomu (New Zealand) - "Illness and injury ultimately slowed him down. But his performances at the 1995 World Cup, just as the game was turning professional, will never be forgotten. The game needed a superstar, and it got one in Lomu. He was brilliant for rugby."

Right-wing: John Kirwan (New Zealand) - "He had an all round game; he could carry the ball through heavy traffic, he could offload, he was like an extra back-rower at times. Plus, he had natural effortless pace. He ended up scoring 35 tries for the All Blacks and was instrumental as they went through their unbeaten spell of games between 1987 and 1990."

Outside-centre: Brian O'Driscoll (Ireland) - "His ability to get back on his feet after tackling to compete for the ball was extraordinary, and ensured he always had an impact on the game, whatever type of game it was. He was such a natural talent."

Inside-centre: Philippe Sella (France) - "Sella and O’Driscoll were powerful men. They could stop a forward in his tracks. I think as a pair they would dominate any midfield and I like the thought of them together."

Fly-half: Dan Carter (New Zealand) - McGeechan wrote that Carter “really was the complete 10. His defence was immaculate, he could break himself, he could bring others in to play, his kicking from hand and from tee was incredibly accurate. He also changed the way the game was played with his kicking from his own 22m and his kicking to compete. The greatest of the modern era in my opinion.’’

Scrum-half: Gareth Edwards (Wales) - "My favourite scrum-half of all time happens to be my favourite player of all time. Gareth Edwards was and always will be the master. The Greatest.’’

Loosehead-prop: Tom Smith (Scotland) - "I just don’t think he gets anywhere near the credit he deserves. Six consecutive Lions Tests in 1997 and 2001, a talismanic figure in Scotland’s 1999 Five Nations win, a major reason Scotland were competitive at the 2003 World Cup."

Hooker: Sean Fitzpatrick (New Zealand) - "He was outstanding, not just as a player but as a captain, and as a man.  His consistency was unbelievable in an international career that spanned 12 years: 92 Test appearances, including a world record 63 consecutive Test matches and 51 as captain. "

Tighthead-prop: Jason Leonard (England) - " He played both sides of the scrum but he was more of a tighthead. Completely unflappable, Jason was never in any trouble. Technically, he was superb and temperamentally he was sound, a huge character on and off the pitch."

Lock: Martin Johnson (England) - "I think he defined an era, both for forward play and for the performances of the teams he represented."

Lock: John Eales (Australia) - "A two-time Rugby World Cup-winner with the Wallabies in 1991 and 1999, captaining his side to victory over France in the second of those finals. A lot of the ‘number fives’ that have followed him play the way they do because of the type of game Eales set."

Blindside-flanker: Richard Hill (England) - "One of the easier selections, if I’m honest. Hill seemed to know almost instinctively where to be and when."

Openside-flanker: Richie McCaw (New Zealand) - Having picked Richard Hill at blindside, the thought of pairing him with Richie McCaw at openside genuinely excites me. Can you imagine those two together? The opposition would not stand a chance. 

Number 8: Zinzan Brooke (New Zealand) - "One of the toughest choices of the lot. Maybe the toughest. His ability to bring others into the game, his ability to stay connected in the game himself, popping up repeatedly through different phases; all exemplary. And he dropped goals of course. A true original."

The brains behind the Six Nations masterplans, these head coaches have all won 'Rugby's Greatest Championship', since the modernised competition began back in 2000. Throughout the history of the competition, there have been only five head coaches to win the competition on more than one occasion.

However, Ireland head coach Andy Farrell is looking to become the sixth, as he orchestrates the men from the Emerald Isle into defending their Six Nations Grand Slam. In total, the Six Nations has been won by 13 different head coaches, and we challenge you to name them all in the next six minutes!

Your time starts... now! Good luck!