Meg Jones leads an England team featuring seven survivors from September’s World Cup final victory over Canada for the launch of their Guinness Six Nations title defence.
The Red Roses return to action for the first time as World Champions as Ireland provide the opposition for the opener at Allianz Stadium.
Jones takes charge for the first time after replacing former captain Zoe Stratford (formerly Aldcroft) who is pregnant with her first child, and continues at outside centre.
Ellie Kildunne and Jess Breach resume in the back three and four forwards who started the 33-13 victory over Canada are present in Amy Cokayne, Morwenna Talling, Sadia Kabeya and Alex Matthews.
Hollie Aitchison and Lucy Packer form the half-backs with Natasha Hunt and Zoe Harrison providing cover from the bench.
Veteran forwards Hannah Botterman and Marlie Packer miss out on the 23 altogether but 19-year-old number eight Haineala Lutui is set to make her debut as a replacement.
"It's a fantastic opportunity to be returning to Allianz Stadium in front of our fans for the first time since the World Cup final," head coach John Mitchell said.
"We've all felt the lasting impact of 2025 and that's reflected in the incredible ticket sales for Saturday's match.
"The players relish and absolutely deserve the opportunity to perform in front of record crowds, but they also understand the responsibility that comes with that stage.
"We know success in this competition is never given - it has to be earned every time. The players are ready to express themselves fully. We cannot wait to get started."
Captain Erin King will lead Ireland, with Cliodhna Moloney-MacDonald set to reach the milestone of 50 Test caps, while uncapped prop EilĂs Cahill and scrum-half Katie Whelan are in line for their debut appearances in green off the replacements bench.
Stacey Flood starts at full-back, with BĂ©ibhinn Parsons and Vicky Elmes Kinlan on the wings.
Eve Higgins and Aoife Dalton are selected in midfield, as Emily Lane and Dannah O'Brien link up in the half backs at scrum-half and out-half respectively.
In the pack, Ellena Perry, Moloney-MacDonald and Linda Djougang are Ireland's starting front row.
World Cup-winning Red Roses Rosie Galligan and Packer announced they are expecting a baby, due October 2026.
Galligan is the fourth expectant England women's player to announce their pregnancy after captain Zoe Stratford, Lark Atkin-Davies and Abbie Ward.
All of them will miss England's campaign and speaking to Your Site News, Galligan said: "I'm excited for the girls to step up into those spots that are now open with four of us out but just really happy for myself and my partner.
"Our coach John Mitchell is really open to us being involved and staying connected with the team. For us, that's really nice. We were in on Tuesday watching the girls beat each other up at the end of the day. It's just nice to support them and be around our social environment.
England head into the tournament aiming to win their eighth consecutive Six Nations title, and Galligan sees France as their closest challengers.
"France are doing really well to rebuild after the World Cup," she said. "They've had a few changes, so that's going to be really exciting, but I'm so excited for the England girls.
"There's some new talent in there that we've seen in the Premiership but now they're able to release themselves on the world stage. It's just an amazing opportunity. It's about rebuilding for the next four years. It's an amazing time!"
World champions England face Ireland at Twickenham on Saturday in front of what is set to be a tournament record crowd with more than 67,000 tickets already been sold.
Reflecting on England's success, Galligan added: "We're successful because we've had that [financial] backing. We were the first professional outlet and I think you can see that but all the teams are catching up now. We're excited to see that gap get smaller with investments being put into the women's game."
England Team
E Kildunne (Harlequins); J Breach (Saracens), M Jones (Trailfinders Women - capt), H Rowland (Loughborough Lightning), C Moloney-MacDonald (Exeter Chiefs); H Aitchison (Sale Sharks), L Packer (Harlequins); K Clifford (Saracens), A Cokayne (Sale Sharks), S Bern (Bristol Bears), M Talling (Sale Sharks), L Ives Campion (Loughborough Lightning), M Feaunati (Exeter Chiefs), S Kabeya (Loughborough Lightning), A Matthews (Gloucester-Hartpury).
Replacements: C Powell (Harlequins), M Carson (Gloucester-Hartpury), M Muir (Gloucester-Hartpury), H Lutui (Loughborough Lightning), A Burton (Trailfinders Women), N Hunt (Gloucester-Hartpury), Z Harrison (Saracens), E Sing (Gloucester-Hartpury).
Ireland Team
Stacey Flood (Railway Union RFC/Leinster), BĂ©ibhinn Parsons (Blackrock College RFC/Connacht), Aoife Dalton (Old Belvedere RFC/Leinster), Eve Higgins (Railway Union RFC/Leinster), Vicky Elmes Kinlan (Wicklow RFC/Leinster), Dannah O'Brien (Old Belvedere RFC/Leinster), Emily Lane (Blackrock College RFC/Munster), Ellena Perry (Gloucester-Hartpury/IQ Rugby), Cliodhna Moloney-MacDonald (Exeter Chiefs), Linda Djougang (Old Belvedere RFC/Leinster), Dorothy Wall (Exeter Chiefs), Fiona Tuite (Old Belvedere RFC/Ulster), Brittany Hogan (Sale Sharks), Erin King (Old Belvedere RFC/Leinster)(Captain), Aoife Wafer (Harlequins).
Replacements: Neve Jones (Gloucester-Hartpury), Niamh O'Dowd (Gloucester-Hartpury), EilĂs Cahill (UL Bohemian RFC/Munster), Ruth Campbell (Old Belvedere RFC/Leinster), Grace Moore (Trailfinders Women/IQ Rugby), Katie Whelan (Old Belvedere RFC/Leinster), Nancy McGillivray (Exeter Chiefs/IQ Rugby), Anna McGann (Railway Union RFC/Connacht).
