Vickery deserves England recall - Johnson - Sport in brief

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The former England captain returns to a beefed-up pack in place of Matt Stevens, who drops to the bench, with Tom Palmer replacing Nick Kennedy in the second row.

"When he is fit and in form Phil is a world-class tight-head prop," said England manager Martin Johnson. "He has been around the team for 10 years. He is still enthusiastic to play the game. He is in very good shape, as good as I have seen him in some time."

He added: "He is very good in the scrum and lineout, he is also a very smart rugby player around the field. His leadership and who he is as a bloke is very important to this squad.

"It is not an ego trip for Vicks to be captain. He still has a big role to play in leadership and bringing younger players through.

"We have two top tight-head props. Phil is deserving of a start. Matt can come on and make an impact and if there is an injury he is there for both sides of the scrum."

Vickery and Andrew Sheridan were the England props responsible for the destruction of the Australian scrum in the World Cup quarter-final last year.

The only other players in England's starting XV who began that 12-10 victory in Marseille are number eight Nick Easter and winger Paul Sackey.