We’ll know the starting XV tomorrow morning but it looks like you can have a good guess based on this 25
While every team can have some complaints about injured players ahead of a Six Nations campaign, England have really been hit hard. From Ben Morgan to Owen Farrell, Stuart Lancaster has been shorn of any number of definite starters so his panel for Friday night’s opener against Wales looks very much as expected.
The headline news is that the likes of Nick Easter and Danny Cipriani, players who surely thought their Six Nations days were over, are back in the fold and likely to play some part in the game on Friday night, almost certainly off the bench.
The usually very well informed English rugby press have Jonathan Joseph and Luther Burrell as England’s likely starting centre pairing while Dylan Hartley is also expected to start. The starting XV, plus the eight replacements, will be announced tomorrow at 9.45am.
Here’s the full 25 named this evening:
Forwards (14)
Dave Attwood (Bath Rugby)
Kieran Brookes (Newcastle Falcons)
Dan Cole (Leicester Tigers)
Tom Croft (Leicester Tigers)
Nick Easter (Harlequins)
Dylan Hartley (Northampton Saints)
James Haskell (Wasps)
George Kruis (Saracens)
Joe Marler (Harlequins)
Chris Robshaw (Harlequins, captain)
Henry Thomas (Bath Rugby)
Mako Vunipola (Saracens)
Billy Vunipola (Saracens)
Tom Youngs (Leicester Tigers)
Backs (11)
Mike Brown (Harlequins)
Luther Burrell (Northampton Saints)
Danny Cipriani (Sale Sharks)
George Ford (Bath Rugby)
Jonathan Joseph (Bath Rugby)
Jonny May (Gloucester Rugby)
Jack Nowell (Exeter Chiefs)
Billy Twelvetrees (Gloucester Rugby)
Anthony Watson (Bath Rugby)
Richard Wigglesworth (Saracens)
Ben Youngs (Leicester Tigers)
