England have swapped one Lions back-row star for another ahead of Saturday’s Six Nations clash with Scotland.
Joe Worsley, a member of the Lions squad that toured South Africa, has replaced 2005 Lion Lewis Moody on the openside flank.
Moody, who was a try scorer during the Lions’ third-Test defeat to the All Blacks five years ago, has been one of England’s most impressive performers this season.
But former Lions skipper and England team manager Martin Johnson has decided to give Worsley his first start since the November loss to New Zealand when the Wasps man suffered knee ligament damage in the opening minute.
"We felt it was the best call to put Joe in the starting team and have Lewis on the bench to make an impact,” said Johnson, as his side look to make it three wins from four 2010 Six Nations games when they travel to Murrayfield.
"It is not a reflection at all on how Lewis has played, it is more of a reflection on the strength and depth of the players we have in the squad.
"They are two different players. They can both play six and seven. There is not a weakness in Lewis’s game but Joe’s defence is good and his ball-carrying is particularly strong."
The absence of fellow Lion Simon Shaw brings about the only other change to the starting XV that lost to Ireland last time out, with Leicester’s Louis Deacon joining captain Steve Borthwick in the second row.
Triple Lions tourist Shaw, who was one of the stand-out performers for Ian McGeechan’s squad last summer, has failed to recover from a shoulder injury that forced him from the field in the early stages of the 20-16 defeat to the Irish a fortnight ago.
Shaw’s misfortune sees Courtney Lawes promoted to the bench, where he is joined by 2005 Lion Steve Thompson who replaces 2009 tourist Lee Mears as the back-up hooker.
Leicester scrum-half Ben Youngs could make his first international appearance after taking over from Paul Hodgson as cover for Danny Care.
England
15 Delon Armitage
14 Mark Cueto
13 Mathew Tait
12 Riki Flutey
11 Ugo Monye
10 Jonny Wilkinson
9 Danny Care
1 Tim Payne
2 Dylan Hartley
3 Dan Cole
4 Louis Deacon
5 Steve Borthwick (captain)
6 James Haskell
7 Joe Worsley
8 Nick Easter
Replacements
16 Steve Thompson
17 David Wilson
18 Courtney Lawes
19 Lewis Moody
20 Ben Youngs
21 Toby Flood
22 Ben Foden
Bold denotes Lion
