Twelvetrees set for England debut against Scotland

Billy Twelvetrees, then of Leicester Tigers, prepares to take a penalty kick in Leicester, central England, on December 19, 2010. Uncapped Gloucester centre Twelvetrees is set to make his England debut in the Six Nations opener against Scotland at Twickenham on Saturday after being named in the starting XV.

LONDON - Uncapped Gloucester centre Billy Twelvetrees is set to make his England debut in the Six Nations opener against Scotland at Twickenham on Saturday after being named in the starting XV.

Twelvetrees was one of two changes announced by coach Stuart Lancaster when he unveiled his run-on side on Thursday, with the midfielder replacing the injured Manu Tuilagi (ankle).

The only other change to the side that started England’s record-breaking 38-21 win over world champions New Zealand at Twickenham last time out in December saw Joe Marler come in for Alex Corbisiero after his fellow tight-head prop was ruled out of the entire Six Nations with a knee problem.

On the bench, Dylan Hartley, Toby Flood and David Strettle replaced David Paice, Freddie Burns and Jonathan Joseph respectively.

“We are happy to stick with the team that did so well against New Zealand, especially in light of the fact that they have all been in good form for their clubs since then,” said Lancaster of a side that is again captained by Harlequins flanker Chris Robshaw.

“There were some very tight calls, with some experienced players coming back into contention, and I am sure the bench will have a significant impact on the game,” he added.

“We can’t wait to get back to Twickenham and hopefully experience the same atmosphere as the autumn when the crowd was superb. It means a lot to the players to have such support in the ground and watching on television.”

England (15-1)

Alex Goode; Chris Ashton, Brad Barritt, Billy Twelvetrees, Mike Brown; Owen Farrell, Ben Youngs; Ben Morgan, Chris Robshaw (capt), Tom Wood; Geoff Parling, Joe Launchbury; Dan Cole, Tom Youngs, Joe Marler

Replacements: Dylan Hartley, David Wilson, Mako Vunipola, Courtney Lawes, James Haskell, Danny Care, Toby Flood, David Strettle