Charlie Hodgson out so Owen Farrell gets No10 role as England make four changes

The change is one of four made to the XV who beat Italy and means Farrell, just 20 years old, will have to pull the tactical strings against the most dangerous back divison in the Six Nations.

However, he will be able to call on the power running of Manu Tuilagi who has taken over at centre while scrum-half Lee Dickson, No8 Ben Morgan and lock Geoff Parling all come into the side. They replace Ben Youngs, Phil Dowson and Tom Palmer who all played in the win in Rome.

Tuilagi, who hit the headlines by diving into a Auckland harbour from a ferry at the end of the Rugby World Cup, has recovered from a hamstring injury while fellow Cup squad members Courtney Lawes and Toby Flood make their first appearances of the campaign on the bench.

Significantly, the changes mean that England will have an untried and inexperienced spine made up of Morgan at No8, scrum half Dickson and Farrell.

Interim head coach Stuart Lancaster said: "We've got real competition for places and Lee, Ben and Geoff deserve an opportunity to start this game. It means Phil and Ben will provide a different role from the bench.

"Charlie cut his finger in training and needed stitches but it swelled up and there is a sprain there. We assessed him this morning and he cannot grip fully. Owen knows our patterns and plays so we are fully confident in his ability to run the game from 10 and we are looking forward to seeing how Brad and Manu gel together in the centre."

Seven of the team will be playing in a Six Nations match at Twickenham for the first time and Lancaster added: "Playing there makes it extra special for us and I know we will get all the encouragement we need."

Lancaster insisted it was not a gamble to go into the Welsh game with the spine of the side - 8, 9 and 10, never having played at Twickenham before for England.

He said: "It will also be my first time there and we have to recognise that there will be pressure on everybody.

"But if we're going to find out about these players for the long term then we need to expose them to these kind of environments and we must be true to our beliefs."

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