TJ and Thomas to face Barbarians

 

Exeter Chiefs duo Tom Johnson and Haydn Thomas have both been named in the England squad for Sunday's clash with the Barbarians at Twickenham.

England head coach Stuart Lancaster has selected Johnson to start on the blindside flank, whilst scrum-half Thomas is named among the replacements for the non-cap fixture.

Elsewhere, Rob Webber captains England for the first time. The Bath Rugby hooker leads a youthful side with 21 year-olds Matt Kvesic (Worcester Warriors) and Marland Yarde (London Irish) pulling on a senior shirt for the first time.

Lancaster said: “We’ve selected a young and exciting side and this is a great opportunity for these players who have shone in the Aviva Premiership this season to step up in front of passionate home crowd at Twickenham Stadium.

“Taking on a very experienced Barbarians team is the first challenge they face this summer with matches in Uruguay and Argentina to follow and this sequence of games is a key part of our development as a team.

“Rob Webber finished the season strongly with Bath and I know his leadership qualities well. I am sure he’ll show the way backed up by the other senior players in the team.”

England v Barbarians, Sunday 1pm, Twickenham Stadium, live on SkySports 4 HD

15 Mike Brown (Harlequins, 16 caps)
14 Christian Wade (Wasps, uncapped)
13 Jonathan Joseph (London Irish, 4 caps)
12 Billy Twelvetrees (Gloucester Rugby, 4 caps)
11 Marland Yarde (London Irish, uncapped)
10 Freddie Burns (Gloucester Rugby, 1 cap)
9 Richard Wigglesworth (Saracens, 12 caps)
1 Alex Corbisiero (London Irish, 18 caps)
2 Rob Webber (Bath Rugby, captain, 3 caps)
3 David Wilson (Bath Rugby, 26 caps)
4 Joe Launchbury (London Wasps, 9 caps)
5 Dave Attwood (Bath Rugby, 2 caps)
6 Tom Johnson (Exeter Chiefs, 5 caps)
7 Matt Kvesic (Worcester Warriors, uncapped)
8 Ben Morgan (Gloucester Rugby, 10 caps)

Replacements

16 David Paice (London Irish, 6 caps)
17 Joe Marler (Harlequins, 10 caps)
18 Henry Thomas (Sale Sharks, uncapped)
19 Kearnan Myall (Unattached, uncapped)
20 Billy Vunipola (London Wasps, uncapped)
21 Haydn Thomas (Exeter Chiefs, uncapped)
22 Jonny May (Gloucester Rugby, uncapped)
23 Kyle Eastmond (Bath Rugby, uncapped)