Hodgson gets chance to earn Test place

Charlie Hodgson will get the chance to make the England number 10 shirt his, after being named as fly-half to face the Barbarians.

The Sale man will continue his half-back combination with club team-mate Richard Wigglesworth in England's only warm-up game at Twickenham on Sunday before leaving for the summer tour of New Zealand. And with Danny Cipriani and Jonny Wilkinson both recovering from surgery, it offers Hodgson the perfect opportunity to prove he is worthy of playing in the number 10 shirt during the Kiwi Tests.

"We want Charlie to play and stake a claim for being in contention for the first Test," said the Rugby Football Union's director of elite rugby Rob Andrew told BBC Five Live.

"Charlie is a great player and he has been running the show this week with Toby Flood at 12," he said.

"I am looking forward to seeing them play together and mixing up the game, setting the foundations for when we go to New Zealand."

With players from Bath, who won Sunday's European Challenge Cup final, and Wasps and Leicester, who meet in Saturday's Premiership final, left out, it is an experimental 27-man squad for the game.

Harlequins number eight Nick Easter will captain the side, Mathew Tait returns at centre, while there are six uncapped players due to get a chance to shine in the non-cap game.

There will be a brand new front row of Nick Lloyd, David Paice and Jason Hobson with lock Nick Kennedy, flanker Will Skinner and wing Topsy Ojo also making their England bows.