England recall Dombrandt for Calcutta Cup clash with Scotland

England head coach Steve Borthwick has named a 36-man squad for their upcoming Six Nations showdown against Scotland, recalling No. 8 Alex Dombrandt ahead of the highly anticipated Calcutta Cup match at Murrayfield on Saturday.

Both teams are seeking their second win in the tournament, with England edging past France 26-25 in their last outing after losing to Ireland in the opener. Scotland also suffered a defeat to Ireland but claimed a 31-19 victory over Italy earlier in the competition.

Dombrandt, who was part of the squad for the Ireland fixture but had to withdraw due to injury, has proven his fitness after featuring for Harlequins against Saracens in the Premiership Cup.

Borthwick has also made several adjustments to the squad, bringing in Alex Coles and Henry Pollock, while Curtis Langdon and Alex Lozowski miss out. Coles returned to action for Northampton on Friday after recovering from a wrist injury.

In a further boost, both Tom Curry and George Martin were able to train after picking up knocks in the hard-fought win over France.

Scotland, meanwhile, have concerns over Darcy Graham and Finn Russell, who suffered a clash of heads during their defeat to Ireland. However, Russell is expected to be fit for the encounter.

Scotland have been dominant in recent Calcutta Cup clashes, winning every match since 2021 and suffering just one defeat in the last seven meetings.

England squad:

Forwards: Fin Baxter (Harlequins), Ollie Chessum (Leicester Tigers), Alex Coles (Northampton Saints), Luke Cowan-Dickie (Sale Sharks), Chandler Cunningham-South (Harlequins), Ben Curry (Sale Sharks), Tom Curry (Sale Sharks), Theo Dan (Saracens), Alex Dombrandt (Harlequins), Ben Earl (Saracens), Ellis Genge (Bristol Bears), Jamie George (Saracens), Joe Heyes (Leicester Tigers), Ted Hill (Bath), Maro Itoje (Saracens), George Martin (Leicester Tigers), Asher Opoku-Fordjour (Sale Sharks), Henry Pollock (Northampton Saints), Bevan Rodd (Sale Sharks), Will Stuart (Bath), Tom Willis (Saracens)

Backs: Oscar Beard (Harlequins), Elliot Daly (Saracens), Fraser Dingwall (Northampton Saints), George Ford (Sale Sharks), Tommy Freeman (Northampton Saints, Ollie Lawrence (Bath Rugby), Alex Mitchell (Northampton Saints), Harry Randall (Bristol Bears), Tom Roebuck (Sale Sharks), Henry Slade (Exeter Chiefs), Ollie Sleightholme (Northampton Saints), Fin Smith (Northampton Saints), Marcus Smith (Harlequins), Ben Spencer (Bath), Freddie Steward (Leicester Tigers).