London: England interim coach Stuart Lancaster has shuffled his line-up for the first time, making a total of six changes to his side for Saturday's Six Nations match against Wales at Twickenham.
Scrumhalf Lee Dickson, No.8 Ben Morgan and lock Geoff Parling will all start for the first time, while Manu Tuilagi was recalled at outside centre for his first appearance since last year's Rugby World Cup.
The other two changes announced yesterday were positional, with Lancaster switching Owen Farrell to No.10 and moving Brad Barritt to inside centre, replacing Farrell and accommodating Tuilagi.
An injury to Charlie Hodgson, the scorer of England's only two tournament tries so far, helped Lancaster decide upon the changes. The flyhalf cut his hand in training and cannot play.
Return from injury
Tuilagi made a match-winning contribution for his club side last weekend on his return from a hamstring injury and Lancaster may have been considering a recall anyway.
"Charlie cut his finger in training earlier in the week and needed stitches but it swelled up and there is a sprain there," Lancaster said. "We assessed him this morning and he cannot grip fully. Owen has trained throughout and 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."
Dickson replaces the out-of-form Ben Youngs at scrumhalf, Wales-based Morgan comes in for Phil Dowson at No.8 and Parling starts in the second row instead of Tom Palmer. The trio made it onto the field as replacements in the first two matches of England's campaign at Scotland and Italy.
"It's been a good start with two wins but we've got real competition for places," Lancaster said.
Youngs and Dowson drop to the bench, where they are joined by lock Courtney Lawes and flyhalf Toby Flood. Like Tuilagi, Lawes and Flood have not played for England since last year's dismal Rugby World Cup campaign because of injury.
TEAM
England: Ben Foden, Chris Ashton, Manu Tuilagi, Brad Barritt, David Strettle, Owen Farrell, Lee Dickson Ben Morgan, Chris Robshaw, Tom Croft, Geoff Parling, Mauritz Botha, Dan Cole, Dylan Hartley, Alex Corbisiero. Reserves: Rob Webber, Matt Stevens, Courtney Lawes, Phil Dowson, Ben Youngs, Toby Flood, Mike Brown.
