Chris Robshaw back for England, Sam Burgess left out against France
Wednesday 19 August 2015 16:29, UK
Chris Robshaw is back to lead England in their return fixture against France in Paris on Saturday.
Robshaw wears the No 7 jersey as he features for England for the first time since the stunning Six Nations win over France in March.
The two sides met again last week, with a largely second-string England running out 19-14 winners at Twickenham. For the return fixture at the Stade de France, Stuart Lancaster has selected a team that appears much closer to his preferred starting line-up.
Winger Jonny May, who spoke this week of 'slaying the Six Nations dragon' after scoring early in the second half at Twickenham, is the only player from the starting XV to retain his jersey, as league convert Sam Burgess falls out of the match-day 23 entirely.
Henry Slade, who impressed on debut, is also out of the reckoning as Luther Burrell and Jonathan Joseph pair up in the midfield and Billy Twelvetrees occupies the bench.
George Ford comes back into the side at fly-half at the expense of Owen Farrell, while Danny Cipriani is likely to get some game time in Paris after being named among the replacements. Ford is joined by Leicester's Ben Youngs in the half-backs.
Jack Nowell takes up duties on the right wing while Mike Brown comes back into the team at full-back, hoping to remind Lancaster of his capabilities after a strong performance from Alex Goode in the No 15 jersey at Twickenham.
Robshaw is joined in the back row by James Haskell and No 8 Billy Vunipola, while the second row sees the return of Joe Launchbury and Courtney Lawes. It is Launchbury's first international match in 12 months after enduring a long-term injury neck injury.
Harlequins' Joe Marler starts at loosehead with last week's starting prop Mako Vunipola dropped to the bench. It was a tough day for Vunipola in the set piece last week, but his work around the loose will have gone a long way to reassuring Lancaster of his depth in the position.
Hooker Tom Youngs will shore up England's lineout after unconvincing performances from Rob Webber and Luke Cowan-Dickie against France, and on the bench hoping for game time and an England debut is Saracens' Jamie George.
Opportunity
Head coach Stuart Lancaster said he was pleased with Saturday's win, and added this week was a chance for other members of the current training squad to showcase their talent.
"Having reviewed last Saturday there were a lot of things we were pleased with considering it was the first game," said Lancaster.
"There is now an opportunity for those not involved or who didn't get much opportunity from the bench to put a marker down and build on that performance.
Live International Rugby Union
"France were very good last weekend and will be even stronger at home and this will be a big test but these guys have been working hard for the opportunity and are desperate to go out and perform.
"I'm delighted for Jamie George who hopefully gets his first cap and also Joe Launchbury, who has worked tirelessly and patiently to get back to fitness.
"It is a big couple of weeks ahead for all the 39-man squad with the game this weekend and some competitive training sessions to come this week and next as we look to narrow down the squad ahead of the World Cup."
The Stade de France match is the second of England's three warm-up games ahead of the World Cup, with a match against Ireland to follow on September 5.
England: 15 Mike Brown, 14 Jack Nowell, 13 Jonathan Joseph, 12 Luther Burrell, 11 Jonny May, 10 George Ford, 9 Ben Youngs; 1 Joe Marler, 2 Tom Youngs, 3 Dan Cole, 4 Joe Launchbury, 5 Courtney Lawes, 6 James Haskell, 7 Chris Robshaw, 8 Billy Vunipola.
Replacements: 16 Jamie George, 17 Mako Vunipola, 18 David Wilson, 19 Dave Attwood, 20 Nick Easter, 21 Danny Care, 22 Danny Cipriani, 23 Billy Twelvetrees.
Watch France v England live on Sky Sports 1 from 7.30pm on Saturday
