Rugby World Cup Blog

With the start of the Six Nations just around the corner, England coach Martin Johnson has named his team to face Wales at Twickenham on Saturday.

The main talking point is the decision to hand Matthew Tait his second start since the 2007 World Cup.

It is another significant moment in what has been a fascinating career for the 24-year-old. He made his England debut as a teenager back in 2005, played in a variety of roles in the build-up to the 2007 tournament and during the World Cup itself before disappearing off the international radar.

However, he is now in the starting line-up and he will be determined to hold on to a position in the England team. Johnson has admitted that Tait has been misused in the past and that now he has his chance to cement a place.

Talking about the Sale player, the England coach said he has a “good all-round game” with a defence that is “under-rated”. Overall, there is bound to be a lot of focus on the performance of Tait as he has hogged the attention in the build-up so far.

Other significant team news is that Jonny Wilkinson continues at fly-half with Ugo Monye and Mark Cueto looking to make an impact on the wings. Then there is the return of Delon Armitage, Riki Flutey and Nick Easter who all missed England’s autumn fixtures.

Speaking about these players, Johnson said that it is “good to get them back”. They all have something to add to the side and every England fan will be hoping that they show this against Wales.

It is important that England start their Six Nations campaign with a victory, after all. There have been some difficult times under Johnson in the last couple of years and it would be good for everyone concerned if this next set of fixtures started with a positive performance and maximum points.

The Six Nations betting odds make France favourites to win the tournament.

However, this will not stop England fans placing a Six Nations free bet on their team to win the competition should they be lucky enough to have one.

The full England team is:

D Armitage (London Irish); M Cueto (Sale Sharks), M Tait (Sale Sharks), R Flutey (Brive), U Monye (Harlequins); J Wilkinson (Toulon), D Care (Harlequins); T Payne (Wasps), D Hartley (Northampton), D Wilson (Bath), S Shaw (Wasps), S Borthwick (Saracens, capt), J Haskell (Stade Francais), L Moody (Leicester), N Easter (Harlequins).