World Cup pressure on Tindall as Tuilagi steps in

Samoan-born outside centre Tuilagi, who is 6ft 1in, 16½st and most famous for the combination of punches he landed on England wing Chris Asthon in the Premiership semi-final, is considered the ace up Johnson’s sleeve going into next month’s World Cup.

He is an unknown quantity to the rest of the world, having played just one season in Leicester’s first team, but he gets his chance to show what he can do in the first of three warm-up games this month.

Otley-born veteran Tindall, who returned to the England camp on Monday after his wedding to Zara Phillips last weekend, drops out of the squad just months after captaining England in four of their five Six Nations games in the Spring.

Johnson’s 22-man squad is very much an experimental line-up with prop Matt Stevens back after a three-year absence and Jonny Wilkinson partnering Leeds-born Danny Care in the half-backs.

The dependable Tindall will get his chance to stake his claim to the starting No 13 shirt in the remaining warm-up games against Wales and Ireland, but the inclusion of Tuilagi alongside the returning Riki Flutey is very much Johnson’s way of inviting the 20-year-old to add more punch to a defensively-minded midfield.

Johnson said: “We are looking forward to seeing Manu play. He’s very coachable and, even though he is still a young man and a relatively inexperienced player, he looks the part.

“He’s improved session by session and we felt he deserved the opportunity to start.”

Asked if discipline was a worry following Tuilagi’s suspension for the attack on Ashton, Johnson added: “I don’t think so. It was one incident in the whole season and that’s all people want to talk about, but he played some very good rugby in the Premiership and in Europe last season.”

The return of Stevens after nearly three years comes just seven months since his return to competitive action following a two-year ban for testing positive for cocaine.

He helped Saracens win the Premiership title and then played a pivotal role as England Saxons won the Churchill Cup in June.

His career renaissance will be complete if he is named in Johnson’s 30-man squad to travel to New Zealand, but for now the team manager is just delighted to have the 29-year-old at his disposal.

Johnson said: “Matt is another one who has been impressive all the way through. He has been training well and he has been in great shape.

“Matt is a very smart player. Obviously he can do the work in the tight phases but he is a very smart rugby player as well. Having those (attributes) on the field in those positions is very important so it is a good opportunity for him.”

As for Care, his recall presents a welcome opportunity to keep the injured Ben Youngs out of the starting No 9 shirt. Harlequins scrum-half Care, 24, has been used as a replacement in the last 10 of his 30 caps – the majority of which came as a second choice to Youngs – but he said of tomorrow’s starting berth: “Delighted to be in the team. Been a while since I last started for England.”

Former Leeds Tyke Tom Palmer continues in the second row after an impressive Six Nations campaign, while Halifax-born fly-half Charlie Hodgson is among the replacements.

Lewis Moody returns from a knee ligament injury to captain the side and there are bench call-ups for the uncapped Saracens lock Mouritz Botha and Gloucester wing Charlie Sharples.

Johnson said: “They have got an opportunity. We wouldn’t be putting people out there if they didn’t have a chance of getting in that 30 (for the World Cup).

“Wales’ team is very strong, it’s a pre-season game in one sense but when we get out there on Saturday it’s a full house, it’s a Test match, and that’s what we want – we want the games to be as intense and as hard as we can make them.”

There is no place in the squad for flanker Hendre Fourie, who made his England debut as a Leeds Carnegie player last autumn and has since moved to Sale Sharks.

He remains in the 40-man party but will learn his World Cup fate by the end of the month when Johnson trims his squad ahead of their World Cup opener against Argentina in Dunedin on September 10.

England: D Armitage (London Irish); M Banahan (Bath), M Tuilagi (Leicester), R Flutey (Wasps), M Cueto (Sale); J Wilkinson (Toulon), D Care (Harlequins); A Corbisiero (London Irish), D Hartley (Northampton), M Stevens (Saracens), S Shaw (Unattached), T Palmer (Stade Francais), T Croft (Leicester), L Moody (Bath, capt), J Haskell (Ricoh Black Rams). Replacements: L Mears (Bath), D Wilson (Bath), M Botha (Saracens), T Wood (Northampton Saints), R Wigglesworth (Saracens), C Hodgson (Saracens), C Sharples (Gloucester).

Wales: R Priestland (Scarlets); G North (Scarlets), J Davies (Scarlets), J Roberts (Cardiff), S Williams (Ospreys); S Jones (Scarlets), M Phillips (Bayonne); P James (Ospreys), H Bennett (Ospreys), C Mitchell (Exeter), B Davies (Cardiff), A-W Jones (Ospreys), D Lydiate (Newport Gwent), S Warburton (Cardiff, capt), T Faletau (Newport Gwent). Replacements: L Burns (Newport Gwent), R Bevington (Ospreys), L Charteris (Newport Gwent), R Jones (Ospreys), T Knoyle (Scarlets), S Williams (Scarlets), M Stoddart (Scarlets).

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