England head coach Eddie Jones believes Sunday’s meeting with RBS 6 Nations rivals Wales will be the perfect opportunity to blood new players into the squad.
The two sides meet at Twickenham for the first time since England’s Championship Grand Slam, with their 25-21 success over Wales back in March an integral part of their campaign.
It was England’s first Slam since 2003, with Sunday’s meeting with Wales a third in nine months after Warren Gatland’s side prevailed 28-25 at the 2015 Rugby World Cup.
Jones is set to hand four players debuts at Twickenham, with Northampton Saints’ Teimana Harrison starting at blindside flanker, while Tommy Taylor, Ellis Genge and Ollie Devoto are named as replacements.
And with a further six players all boasting fewer than ten caps, Jones is looking for his squad to move towards the 2017 RBS 6 Nations and beyond.
“We’ve picked a side we believe can beat Wales,” said Jones. “It’s a good mixture of experience and youth.
“Obviously we have a number of players missing from the squad who are taking part in the Premiership final but this provides us with a great opportunity to expose other players to Test rugby. This will serve to strengthen the squad’s depth.
“We’ve prepared well this week and I’m pleased with the progress the squad have made in the short time we’ve had together. There’s been plenty of energy and enthusiasm and you can tell the lads have enjoyed being back in camp.
“As always there were some tight calls on selection and that’s how we want it.
“This is an important Test match and a great opportunity for us to play some positive, physical rugby. We are a young team learning our craft, Wales are an experienced team; it’ll be a great test for us.
“We can’t wait to get back Twickenham to play in front of a massive crowd. England versus Wales is a special occasion and we look forward to giving our loyal fans something to cheer about.”
England squad to face Wales: 15 Mike Brown, 14 Anthony Watson, 13 Jonathan Joseph, 12 Luther Burrell, 11 Marland Yarde, 10 George Ford, 9 Ben Youngs, 1 Matt Mullan, 2 Dylan Hartley (captain), 3 Dan Cole, 4 Joe Launchbury, 5 Courtney Lawes, 6 Teimana Harrison, 7 James Haskell, 8 Jack Clifford
Replacements: 16 Tommy Taylor, 17 Ellis Genge, 18 Paul Hill, 19 Dave Attwood, 20 Matt Kvesic, 21 Danny Care, 22 Ollie Devoto, 23 Elliot Daly
