England v Barbarians: Elliot Daly at full-back for non-cap match at Twickenham
- Published
- comments
England v Barbarians |
---|
Venue: Twickenham, London Date: Sunday, 27 May Kick-off: 15:00 BST |
Coverage: Watch highlights on BBC Two and online at 23:30 BST (00:00 in Scotland; not available in Northern Ireland). |
Elliot Daly will make his first start at full-back for England in Sunday's non-cap match against the Barbarians at Twickenham.
There are four uncapped players in the XV, with Henry Trinder at outside centre and Jack Singleton, Elliott Stooke and Zach Mercer in the forwards.
Regular full-back Mike Brown is on the wing, with George Ford and Chris Robshaw the co-captains.
"The match is a fantastic opportunity," said head coach Eddie Jones.
"We've always wanted to try Elliot at 15 and we also think (Mike) Browny can be an absolutely outstanding left winger for us."
Daly's outgoing Wasps team-mate Danny Cipriani is among the replacements, after being named in the squad for the first time under Jones.
Jones added: "If I wanted to make headlines [I would pick him to start], if I wanted to pick the best team then no [I won't]. He's in the 23 this week and he has a fantastic opportunity off the bench."
Scrum-half Dan Robson is also on the bench, along with fellow uncapped players hooker George McGuigan, prop Nick Schonert and utility forward Josh Beaumont.
"This is a good young squad and their work ethic has been outstanding over the last two weeks," Jones said.
"It is a great opportunity for them to show they deserve to wear the English rose, to show they can be in contention for the World Cup and a great opportunity for them to put us on the front foot ahead of the South Africa tour."
The Barbarians have named a strong squad for the Twickenham clash, with former England winger Chris Ashton and Scotland fly-half Finn Russell part of a star-laden backline.
"You never know what to expect from the Barbarians team," Jones added.
"We know they will be well coached by Pat Lam, we know they have got good individual players and some outstanding individual players, so we need to be up for the unexpected.
"We can't wait to get back to Twickenham and get on the front foot, please the fans and play some good rugby."
Sunday's match will be England's first game since news of defence coach Paul Gustard's upcoming move to Harlequins later this summer, and Jones said: "Our coaches have been approached consistently.
"I'm pleased for him, he wants to be a head coach and he's been deemed good enough so it's a great reward for him and his coaching.
"We are obviously disappointed from a team perspective, but then it creates another opportunity for us to bring in a coach that can build on the great work he has done."
Fly-half George Ford said: "Gussy is a world-class coach, his impact has been phenomenal and it's going to be a great miss for us.
"But we are proud for him. He'll be missed but it's not a bad thing to freshen things up sometimes, so it's exciting moving forward as well."
With eight uncapped players included in the match day squad, Ford says the new faces have brought lots of energy and have even had to be told to "taper down" during training sessions.
Ben Youngs returns to the starting line-up for the first time since England won away in Rome on the opening weekend of the Six Nations, and Ford says his Leicester team-mate's inclusion is a "massive bonus because of his international experience".
England side to play Barbarians: Elliot Daly (Wasps); Jonny May (Leicester), Henry Trinder (Gloucester), Piers Francis (Northampton), Mike Brown (Harlequins); George Ford (Leicester), Ben Youngs (Leicester); Joe Marler (Harlequins), Jack Singleton (Worcester), Kyle Sinckler (Harlequins), Elliott Stooke (Bath), Joe Launchbury (Wasps), Chris Robshaw (Harlequins), Tom Curry (Sale), Zach Mercer (Bath)
Replacements: George McGuigan (Leicester), Ellis Genge (Leicester), Nick Schonert (Worcester), Josh Beaumont (Sale), Mark Wilson (Newcastle), Dan Robson (Wasps), Danny Cipriani (Wasps), Denny Solomona (Sale)