Matt Mullan in for second England cap against New Zealand with Alex Corbisiero out
The British & Irish Lion loose head is still struggling with a knee injury so the London Wasp, who was called into the squad on Sunday, should start on the bench with Harlequins’ Joe Marler starting.
This is the only change to the match day 23 as both Marlan Yarde and Christian Wade have failed to recover from injury so Ben Foden and Chris Ashton should start on the wings.
England Head Coach Stuart Lancaster said: “Alex Corbisiero took part in this morning’s forwards training session but suffered some discomfort to his knee. He did not train this afternoon and will not be available for selection for the weekend.
“It is disappointing for Alex, having missed last year’s Six Nations because of an injury to his other knee, and with Mako (Vunipola) also unavailable, it’s a great opportunity for Joe Marler and Matt Mullan, who has been with us all week and is raring to go in the 23. Marland Yarde and Christian Wade have not recovered in time to be available for this game while Henry Trinder is still recovering from a dead leg.
“We’ve had a good start to the week and now it’s a case of tapering down the training and getting ourselves ready for the ultimate challenge. The Twickenham crowd has been great over the last two weeks and we know they will be just as vocal as they were against New Zealand last year.”
England Squad to face New Zealand
Forwards: Dan Cole (Leicester Tigers), Dylan Hartley (Northampton Saints), Joe Launchbury (London Wasps), Courtney Lawes (Northampton Saints), Joe Marler (Harlequins), Ben Morgan (Gloucester Rugby), Matt Mullan (London Wasps), Geoff Parling (Leicester Tigers), Chris Robshaw (Harlequins), Billy Vunipola (Saracens), David Wilson (Bath Rugby), Tom Wood (Northampton Saints), Tom Youngs (Leicester Tigers).
Backs: Chris Ashton (Saracens), Mike Brown (Harlequins), Lee Dickson (Northampton Saints), Owen Farrell (Saracens), Toby Flood (Leicester Tigers), Ben Foden (Northampton Saints), Alex Goode (Saracens), Joel Tomkins (Saracens), Billy Twelvetrees (Gloucester Rugby), Ben Youngs (Leicester Tigers).
Released: Dave Attwood (Bath Rugby), Freddie Burns (Gloucester Rugby), Luther Burrell (Northampton Saints), Danny Care (Harlequins), Alex Corbisiero (Northampton Saints), Kyle Eastmond (Bath Rugby), Tom Johnson (Exeter Chiefs), Matt Kvesic (Gloucester Rugby), Henry Thomas (Sale Sharks), Henry Trinder (Gloucester Rugby), Mako Vunipola (Saracens), Marland Yarde (London Irish), Rob Webber (Bath Rugby), Christian Wade (London Wasps), Anthony Watson (Bath Rugby).
