 Goode makes his first England appearance in over two years
|
England have named Brive's Andy Goode at fly-half for their Six Nations opener against Italy on Saturday.
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.
That year the Underwoods, Rory and Tony, took to the field for Jack Rowell's side.
England's starting XV features five changes from the November defeat by New Zealand at Twickenham.
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.
 |
606: DEBATE
politedebate
|
Northampton's versatile back Ben Foden is poised to make his debut off the bench, where he features alongside veteran Leicester prop Julian White who replaced Matt Stevens in the elite squad.
Goode, who played with England manager Martin Johnson at Leicester, last appeared for England in the 2006 November defeat to South Africa - Andy Robinson's last game in charge - but returns to the international stage in prime form.
Having swapped Leicester for Brive during the summer, Goode is the leading points scorer in the French Top 14.
He joined the England squad for last week's training camp in Portugal and his inclusion will see the fly-half jersey change hands for the sixth time in eight Tests.
Cipriani was yesterday dropped to the Saxons squad for Friday night's game against Ireland A in Dublin.
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).
No comments:
Post a Comment