New-look for England

England have named 13 uncapped players in their squad for the friendly with the Barbarians on Sunday.

A total of 13 uncapped players to face the BaaBaas

England have named 13 uncapped players in their squad for the friendly with the Barbarians on Sunday. The average age of the squad is just 24 as England opt to give youth a chance to shine at Twickenham. Joe Marler, Kieran Brookes, Tom Johnson, Joe Gray and Henry Trinder are among those called up for the first time for the non-cap international. There is also a blend of experience in the 24-strong party, with the likes of Charlie Hodgson, Ugo Monye, James Simpson-Daniel and Matt Banahan also included. England Saxons head coach Stuart Lancaster will look after the team, with Jon Callard and Simon Hardy named as his assistants for the match. And with the players from Leicester and Saracens missing due to the Premiership final and the majority of the senior squad rested, Lancaster believes the game will be the ideal chance for the younger players to stake a claim for a World Cup place.

Challenge

"It's a great opportunity for all the players who are looking to force their way into Martin Johnson's plans for the World Cup and those who will go on to defend the Churchill Cup with the England Saxons next month," said Lancaster. "We face a very big challenge against the Barbarians, who have a very experienced squad in terms of their average age and number of caps. "But there's a great deal of quality in the England system at the moment and a lot of these young players will get a chance to benchmark themselves against the best. We've seen that in the way the likes of Ben Youngs, Courtney Lawes, Alex Corbisiero have taken their chances recently. "A lot of the players have played in big games recently both in Europe and the Aviva Premiership. If we combine them with some of the more experienced players like Paul and Charlie Hodgson, Ugo Monye and James Simpson-Daniel, it should be an exciting combination." England - Forwards: Dave Attwood (Gloucester), Kieran Brookes (Newcastle Falcons), Calum Clark (Northampton Saints), Paul Doran-Jones (Gloucester), Carl Fearns (Sale Sharks), James Gaskell (Sale Sharks), Joe Gray (Harlequins), Tom Johnson (Exeter Chiefs), Graham Kitchener (Worcester Warriors), Joe Marler (Harlequins), Matthew Mullan (Worcester Warriors), Luke Narraway (Gloucester), David Paice (London Irish).
Backs: Matt Banahan (Bath), Mike Brown (Harlequins), Rory Clegg (Harlequins), Lee Dickson (Northampton Saints), Paul Hodgson (London Irish), Charlie Hodgson (Sale Sharks), Ugo Monye (Harlequins), Stephen Myler (Northampton Saints), James Simpson-Daniel (Gloucester), Henry Trinder (Gloucester), Jordan Turner-Hall (Harlequins)