Phil Dowson has been named as England's skipper for Sunday's clash with the Barbarians at Twickenham.
Saints back-row preferred to Hartley
Phil Dowson has been named as England's skipper for Sunday's clash with the Barbarians at Twickenham.
The Northampton back-row won all five of his England caps during this year's RBS Six Nations - starting the matches against Scotland and Italy, before having to settle for a place on the bench against Wales, France and Ireland.
However with regular captain Chris Robshaw unavailable for the non-cap international due to his involvement in the Aviva Premiership final, Dowson has been handed the reins.
The 30-year-old has previously led the Saxons, while although his Saints captain Dylan Hartley has been included in the initial 27-man squad, it is Dowson who has got the nod.
"Phil is one of the key members of out leadership group. He will captain the team on Sunday," said England forwards coach Graham Rowntree.
All the England players from Harlequins and Leicester will miss the traditional encounter - with this year's match serving as a warm-up to the tour of South Africa.
That means Carl Fearns, Jamie Gibson, Tom Johnson, Joe Launchbury, Freddie Burns, Alex Goode, Haydn Thomas, Christian Wade and Jonathan Joseph are among those looking to take their chance at Twickenham.
Hartley is set to play his first game since the Six Nations after serving an eight week ban for biting Ireland flanker Stephen Ferris.
Rowntree believes Hartley is a future England captain but this weekend wanted the Northampton hooker to concentrate on his scrummaging.
Focus
"The fact he has been out for eight weeks, I want Dylan to focus on playing, to focus on his game and not be saddled with captaincy issues," Rowntree said.
Dowson's elevation is a reward for his leadership during the Six Nations as a new-look England team defied the odds to finish second in the championship.
And that ability to galvanise a new team is particularly important this week, with 18 members of the touring squad absent on Premiership final duty.
"Phil coped with the disappointment (of losing his place in the team) very well. That is the mark of Phil Dowson," Rowntree said.
"He took it on the chin and we all saw the rise of Ben Morgan towards the end of the Six Nations so it wasn't easy for him.
"But he took it on the chin and never stopped giving his experience to the younger guys and giving to the group. He is a great leader.
"When he makes a point it is worthwhile. We have a strong leadership group at the moment. There are a few guys we could give the captaincy to but we feel Dows is right for this game.
"When you are pulling guys together for the first time, that leadership is important. He will make sure we are right on it.
"This is a proper game, as intense and as big a game as a Six Nations game for us."
