Joel Tomkins will make his England debut in Saturday’s international against Australia at Twickenham Stadium.
The centre will be joined by Saracens teammate Billy Vunipola and London Irish wing Marland Yarde, who both won their first caps in Argentina in June and make their first starts at Twickenham.
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Lee Dickson, who started both Tests against the Pumas, wins his 10th cap and partners Owen Farrell at halfback, while fellow British & Irish Lions Dan Cole, Ben Youngs and brother Tom also return to the match 23.
England coach Stuart Lancaster said: “I’m delighted for Joel. He has had a great week’s training and is ready for his chance. He has played in many high-profile games in his career so far and has a great temperament for the big occasion.
“Billy Vunipola and Marland Yarde made a big impression in Argentina and it’s going to be a special occasion for them to run out at Twickenham in front of 82,000 passionate supporters for the first time.
“We are looking forward to the challenge of playing Australia – they have made great strides under Ewen McKenzie and their new coaching team and they are formidable opponents.
“It’s eight months since we played at our home (RBS 6 Nations v Italy) and we are looking forward to getting back there for the Internationals and what is a very important series for us two years out from the World Cup.”
England: 15 Mike Brown, 14 Chris Ashton, 13 Joel Tomkins, 12 Billy Twelvetrees, 11 Marland Yarde, 10 Owen Farrell, 9 Lee Dickson, 8 Billy Vunipola, 7 Chris Robshaw (Captain), 6 Tom Wood, 5 Courtney Lawes, 4 Joe Launchbury, 3 Dan Cole, 2 Tom Youngs, 1 Mako Vunipola.
Replacements: 16 Dylan Hartley, 17 Joe Marler, 18 David Wilson, 19 Dave Attwood, 20 Ben Morgan, 21 Ben Youngs, 22 Toby Flood, 23 Ben Foden.
Date: Saturday 2 November 2013
Venue: Twickenham, London
Kick-off: 16:30 SA Time (14:30 GMT, 01:30 Sunday AEDT)
Referee: George Clancy (Ireland)
Assistant Referees: Romain Poite (France), Dudley Phillips (Ireland)
TMO: Marshall Kilgore (Ireland)
Another League star chasing TRUE world fame and fortune?
From Mail Online:
“When it came to his own transition, Tomkins repeatedly cites the lure of union’s greater global reach and the prospect of playing in a World Cup. His suitability for the move was enhanced by a positional change from second row to centre at Wigan after the 2010 season, ensuring that the No 13 role in union was not alien to him when he joined Saracens. But rucks were truly alien and that is the aspect of the new code that took him most time to grow accustomed to.”
“The opposition for his Test debut couldn’t be more fitting in terms of providing additional motivation. England have endured a perennial struggle to live with Australia’s Kangaroos in the sport Tomkins left behind, so he hopes to inflict some payback on the Wallabies.
‘In rugby league, Australia are the best team and have been for years,’ he said. ‘It is nice to get the chance to compare the two, having played against Australia in rugby league. I think in league the gap is getting smaller but you can see from last weekend it is still there. This weekend, I’d love it if we could go out, put in a really good performance and get the win.’”
Tomkins has been playing very well for Saracens and Billy Twelvetrees is an exciting player so if these two can ‘gel’ they will be impressive. Winger Marlon Yarde may not be the biggest but he makes up for this with good pace and a step, clever swervy runner and plays with such enthusiasm, he could become a fans favourite when I’ve seen him play he looks like he is enjoying himself out there plays with a smile on his face a lot.
Very strong starting pack for England that should be brutal come scrum time. Launchbury and Lawes will be a lock pairing to watch with young Launchbury making a big impression last season and Lawes has stepped up again in club rugby this year playing more to his potential. Vunipola’s are strong, keep an eye out for eighthman Billy a strong carrier. Then of course captain Robshaw will play his heart out all day hopefully he will curb his temper that showed up at times in the last international season. Not too sure about a few of the replacement forwards, pity Alex Corbisiero is injured. Ben Morgan can be a good player if he wants not sure he is always consistently as good as he can be. If Hartley can channel his aggression in the right direction he is good but for me too much of a liability with his lack of discipline.
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