Dickson to lead England XV
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Northampton Saints scrumhalf Lee Dickson will captain the England XV team to face the Barbarians at Twickenham on Sunday.
The team will feature 10 players named in England’s initial World Cup training squad earlier this month in the starting line-up.
Joe Launchbury (Wasps) and Ed Slater (Leicester Tigers) will be seen for the first time in an England shirt this season after both recovering from long-term injuries.
The match also sees the return of the 38-Test international Mathew Tait (Leicester Tigers), who played in England’s World Cup final in 2007 and last featured for his country in 2010.
Jack Clifford (Harlequins), captain of the England Under-20 side that won the 2013 Six Nations and Junior World Championship, will start at openside flank.
Head coach Stuart Lancaster said: "We’ve had a short but very good week in camp and the players have worked hard."
"I’ve been extremely happy with the way they have gone about their training and prep off the field. This is an exciting group of players who will be eager to impress in an England shirt with a number of guys having one eye on the World Cup in September.
"We know the Barbarians have a large number of experienced international guys and they will be ready for us having played Ireland on Thursday.
"We are expecting a tough encounter."
The match is part of a double-header season finale at the home of England this weekend which will also see Bath play Saracens in the Premiership final on Saturday.
England XV: 15 Mathew Tait, 14 Christian Wade, 13 Elliot Daly , 12 Henry Slade, 11 Marland Yarde, 10 Danny Cipriani, 9 Lee Dickson (captain), 8 Josh Beaumont, 7 Jack Clifford, 6 Mark Wilson, 5 Joe Launchbury, 4 Ed Slater, 3 Kieran Brookes, 2 Luke Cowan-Dickie, 1 Matt Mullan.
Replacements: 16 Tommy Taylor, 17 Alex Waller, 18 Gareth Denman, 19 James Gaskell, 20 Jon Fisher, 21 Will Chudley, 22 Shane Geraghty, 23 Alex Lewington.
Date: Sunday, May 31
Venue: Twickenham, London.
Kick-off: 15.00 (14.00 GMT)
Referee: George Clancy (Ireland)
Assistant referees: Luke Pearce (England), Paul Dix (England)
TMO: Sean Davey (England)
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