England head coach Eddie Jones has named his team to play the Barbarians for the Quilter Cup on Sunday, with Elliot Daly starting at full-back.
George Ford (Leicester Tigers) and Chris Robshaw (Harlequins) will co-captain the England side again, having done so for last year’s fixture against the Barbarians and Samoa this season.
Ben Youngs (Leicester Tigers) makes a return in an England shirt for the uncapped match, following a knee injury he picked up against Italy in this season’s Six Nations.
Mike Brown (Harlequins) will play on the left wing, with Daly (Wasps) wearing the number 15 jersey.
Piers Francis (Northampton Saints), who made his England debut in Argentina last June, will partner uncapped Henry Trinder (Gloucester) in the midfield.
Robshaw will play in the back-row alongside Tom Curry (Sale Sharks) – who became the youngest player to start an international for England in 90 years against Argentina last year – and the former England U20 captain Zach Mercer (Bath).
Dan Robson (Wasps) and Danny Cipriani (Wasps) are named on the bench for the first time under Jones.
“This is a good young squad and their work ethic has been outstanding over the last two weeks,” said Jones.
“Their application to learn has been very good but they are very young at Test rugby level so this week’s match against the Barbarians is a fantastic opportunity for them to step up.
“As last year Chris Robshaw and George Ford will co-captain the side. Their combined experience and expertise gives us the best captaincy level for the game.
“We can’t wait to get back to Twickenham and get on the front foot, please the fans and play some good rugby.”
Meanwhile, Chris Ashton starts at full-back for the Barbarians when he lines up against England for the first time in Sunday’s game.
The Toulon wing, who has scored 19 tries in 39 Test appearances, is part of a stellar backline featuring his Fijian Stade Mayol team-mates Josua Tuisova and Semi Radradra, and Scotland’s Calcutta Cup winner Finn Russell.
The famous invitation club’s all-star back-row consists of captain Juan Martin Fernandez Lobbe (Argentina), World Cup winner Victor Vito (New Zealand) and Wales’ British & Irish Lions flanker Justin Tipuric.
The Barbarians have made a late change because of suspension to lock Flip van der Merwe (Clermont & South Africa).
Joe Tekori (Toulouse & Samoa) – a try-scorer in this fixture last season – has joined the squad and will be on the replacements bench.
“It’s an exciting challenge to bring together a side in five days but everything we’ve done has been about improving our chances of winning this game,” said head coach Pat Lam.
“We have very high-quality individuals – and they’ve worked hard and risen to the challenge of coming together as a team, which is what we’ll need to compete with a top class international side.”
The teams:
England: 15 Elliot Daly, 14 Jonny May, 13 Henry Trinder, 12 Piers Francis, 11 Mike Brown, 10 George Ford (cc), 9 Ben Youngs, 8 Zach Mercer, 7 Tom Curry, 6 Chris Robshaw (cc), 5 Joe Launchbury, 4 Elliott Stooke, 3 Kyle Sinckler, 2 Jack Singleton, 1 Joe Marler
Replacements: 16 George McGuigan, 17 Ellis Genge, 18 Nick Schonert, 19 Josh Beaumont, 20 Mark Wilson, 21 Dan Robson, 22 Danny Cipriani, 23 Denny Solomona
Barbarians: 15 Chris Ashton, 14 Josua Tuisova, 13 Semi Radradra, 12 Josh Matavesi, 11 Niyi Adeolokun, 10 Finn Russell, 9 Rhodri Williams, 8 Victor Vito, 7 Justin Tipuric, 6 Juan Martin Fernandez Lobbe (c), 5 Sitaleki Timani, 4 Ultan Dillane, 3 John Afoa, 2 Benjamin Kayser, 1 Denis Buckley
Replacements: 16 Tatafu Polota-Nau, 17 Loni Uhila, 18 Ramiro Herrera, 19 Joe Tekori, 20 Nili Latu, 21 Greig Laidlaw, 22 Luke McAlister, 23 Malakai Fekitoa
Date: Sunday, May 27
Venue: Twickenham
Kick-off: 15:00 BST (14:00 GMT)
Referee: Andy Brace (Ireland)
Assistant referees: Marius Mitrea (Italy), Ben Whitehouse (Wales)
Television match offcial: Peter Fitzgibbon (Ireland)
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