Itoje named in Enlgand back row to take on France

Maro Itoje will, as expected, start at blindside for England in their Six Nations opener against France at Twickenham.
The Saracens lock will pack down alongside Tom Wood and Nathan Hughes in the back row while James Haskell starts on the bench.
Itoje is one of five changes to the starting XV that defeated Australia at the end of last year to complete an unbeaten 2016.
Elliot Daly and Jonny May start on the wings while Joe Marler is named at loosehead and Joe Launchbury is at lock.
On the bench there are returns for loosehead prop Matt Mullan and wing Jack Nowell (Exeter Chiefs).
Can Itoje’s inclusion help England start their Six Nations defence in the perfect fashion? If you’re confident, take a look at the England v France betting odds and have a bet.
“We’ve been able to select a very strong and experienced team to play against France and we are excited to get the tournament underway,” said England head coach Eddie Jones.
“There’s a great rivalry between the countries so we’re looking forward to a great occasion playing against one of England’s oldest foes.
“In rugby terms you’ve traditionally got two contrasting styles – French flair and England’s dogged conservative approach, but we want to be absolutely daring against the French in this first game and set the standard for the tournament,” added Jones.
“Guy Noves likes a big team. He picks a traditional French forward pack with squat front-rowers who scrummage well, big locks who give a lot of ballast and athletic back-rowers. It’s based on size and crunching that gain line, getting an off-load and then playing with flair. Of course this gives you an opportunity when you’ve got a big forward pack against you and we intend to exploit that.
“We want to get better all of the time, we are ambitious and we want to be the number one team in the world.
“It’s exciting to be back at Twickenham. We’ve got great supporters and we’re looking forward to hearing them turn up the volume on Saturday.”
England: Mike Brown, Jonny May, Jonathan Joseph, Owen Farrell, Elliot Daly, George Ford, Ben Youngs; Joe Marler,  Dylan Hartley (c), Dan Cole, Joe Launchbury, Courtney Lawes, Maro Itoje, Tom Wood, Nathan Hughes
Replacements: Jamie George, Matt Mullan, Kyle Sinckler, Teimana Harrison, James Haskell, Danny Care, Ben Te’o, Jack Nowell