Saints star Freeman starts at outside centre for England against Australia
Tommy Freeman will start at outside centre for England on Saturday, lining up alongside Saints team-mate Fraser Dingwall in the Quilter Nations Series opener against Australia at Allianz Stadium (kick-off 3.10pm).
Alex Mitchell also starts as he’s handed the No.9 shirt, while Alex Coles, Henry Pollock and Fin Smith are all among the replacements.
“We’re excited to begin our Quilter Nations Series campaign against Australia and to test ourselves against a strong, in-form side,” said England head coach Steve Borthwick.
“Australia have had four months together, so it’ll be a great challenge for us first up.
"We’ve worked hard with the time we’ve had, and the players can’t wait to play in front of a passionate home crowd.
“It’s another opportunity for us to take a step forward as a team.”
England team to face Australia: 15. Freddie Steward (Leicester Tigers, 38 caps); 14. Tom Roebuck (Sale Sharks, 6 caps), 13. Tommy Freeman (Saints, 20 caps), 12. Fraser Dingwall (Saints, 4 caps), 11. Immanuel Feyi-Waboso (Exeter Chiefs, 9 caps); 10. George Ford (Sale Sharks, 102 caps) – vice-captain, 9. Alex Mitchell (Saints, 23 caps); 1. Fin Baxter (Harlequins, 14 caps), 2. Jamie George (Saracens, 102 caps) – vice-captain, 3. Joe Heyes (Leicester Tigers, 14 caps); 4. Maro Itoje (Saracens, 93 caps) – captain, 5. Ollie Chessum (Leicester Tigers, 28 caps); 6. Guy Pepper (Bath Rugby, 3 caps), 7. Sam Underhill (Bath Rugby, 42 caps), 8. Ben Earl (Saracens, 42 caps).
Replacements: 16. Luke Cowan-Dickie (Sale Sharks, 49 caps), 17. Ellis Genge (Bristol Bears, 71 caps) – vice-captain, 18. Will Stuart (Bath Rugby, 50 caps), 19. Alex Coles (Saints, 10 caps), 20. Tom Curry (Sale Sharks, 61 caps), 21. Henry Pollock (Saints, 1 cap), 22. Ben Spencer (Bath Rugby, 10 caps), 23. Fin Smith (Saints, 11 caps).