Gloucester No.8 Luke Narraway has been named captain of the England team set to take on the Barbarians on Sunday at Twickenham.
Narraway has enjoyed an outstanding season at the base of the scrum for the Cherry & Whites but last featured for England as a replacement in the 2009 RBS 6 Nations.
The match will be non capped but has been framed as a last chance for several of England’s fringe players to impress as Martin Johnson makes up his mind on World Cup selection.
However England’s preparations have been hampered by injuries with a shoulder injury ruling out Northampton scrum-half Lee Dickson of the match and next month’s Churchill Cup.
That has prompted Stuart Lancaster – who will be taking charge of the scratch England team – to delay his team announcement but says he is happy with the build up to the match.
He said: “We’ve also got a couple of other injuries to assess and we’ll have a look at some potential replacements in training today against the England Under 20 side. Another 24 hours will give us time to finalise the squad before we move to Pennyhill Park and train at Twickenham on Friday.
“Our preparations have gone well overall and we’re pleased to announce that Luke Narraway will captain the side which is a great reflection of the form and leadership qualities he’s demonstrated at Gloucester this season.”
In contrast, the Barbarians have been able to announce their starting line-up today which includes former England winger Paul Sackey who is returning to his former stomping ground.
There are also three Italian internationals in the starting XV with Salvatore Perugini, Leonardo Ghiraldini and captain Sergio Parisse.
Rugby league convert Willie Mason is on the bench but is set to make his union debut in the centres as a replacement.
