England play Italy at Twickenham on Saturday, 7 February with Kick-off at: 1500 GMT
and Martin Johnson has named his team including Brive’s Andy Goode at fly-half. With Danny Cipriani demoted to the Saxons and Toby Flood struggling with a calf injury, 28-year-old Goode makes his first appearance in over two years.
London Irish flanker Steffon Armitage starts following injuries to Tom Rees, Lewis Moody and Michael Lipman. Steffon and full-back Delon Armitage will become the first brothers to play in the same England team since in 1995.
Mike Tindall returns at outside centre with Mark Cueto back on the wing for the first time since the 2007 World Cup final to replace the injured Ugo Monye, while Andrew Sheridan returns at loose-head. Northampton’s Ben Foden is ready to make his debut off the bench, where he features alongside veteran Leicester prop Julian White who replaced Matt Stevens in the elite squad.
England team:
D Armitage (London Irish); P Sackey (Wasps), M Tindall (Gloucester), R Flutey (Wasps), M Cueto (Sale Sharks); A Goode (Brive), D Care (Harlequins); A Sheridan (Sale Sharks), L Mears (Bath), P Vickery (Wasps), S Borthwick (Saracens, capt), N Kennedy (London Irish), J Haskell (Wasps), S Armitage (London Irish), N Easter (Harlequins).
Replacements: D Hartley (Northampton), J White (Leicester), T Croft (Leicester), J Worsley (Wasps), B Foden (Northampton), S Geraghty (London Irish), M Tait (Sale Sharks).