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Easter to captain England against the Barbarians at Twickenham
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28 May 2008
Harlequins forward Nick Easter will captain England in Sunday's clash against the Barbarians at Twickenham.
Easter is among nine capped players included in the England side ahead of their
two-Test tour of New Zealand.
A sizeable contingent from Leicester and Wasps were not considered due to
Saturday's Guinness Premiership final between the clubs, while no Bath players
are involved following their European Challenge Cup final victory last weekend.
In charge: Nick Easter has been named as England captain
Easter is joined in the England line-up by his Quins colleagues Will Skinner
and David Strettle, while World Cup backs Mathew Tait and Toby Flood team up in
midfield.
And there is also an opportunity at fly-half for Charlie Hodgson, who has an
opportunity to press his claim for the number 10 shirt against New Zealand in
Auckland on June 14.
With Danny Cipriani and Jonny Wilkinson both recovering from operations,
Hodgson could put himself in pole position with a commanding display against the
Barbarians.
London Irish wing Topsy Ojo is the solitary uncapped player in the back
division, but the only senior England internationals up front are Easter,
Gloucester's Luke Narraway and Sale Sharks lock Chris Jones.
The front row is an untried combination of Nick Lloyd, David Paice and Jason
Hobson, with highly-rated Northampton hooker Dylan Hartley having to be content
with a place on the bench.
Hartley was on course to make England's World Cup squad last year, but a
six-month ban for gouging dashed those hopes.
England head to New Zealand next month for Tests against the All Blacks in
Auckland and Christchurch, and they will be looking for a solid performance this
weekend.
England team: M Brown (Harlequins); T Ojo (London Irish), M Tait (Newcastle), T Flood (Newcastle), D Strettle (Harlequins); C Hodgson (Sale Sharks), R Wigglesworth (Sale Sharks); N Lloyd (Saracens), D Paice (London Irish), J Hobson (Bristol), C Jones (Sale Sharks), N Kennedy (London Irish), L Narraway (Gloucester), W Skinner (Harlequins), N Easter (Harlequins, captain).
Replacements: D Hartley (Northampton), D Wilson (Newcastle), S Hooper (Leeds
Carnegie), T Guest (Harlequins), D Care (Harlequins), P Richards (London Irish),
U Monye (Harlequins).
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