England coach Brian Ashton has sprung a surprise by drafting in Iain Balshaw at full-back for their Six Nations opener with Wales at Twickenham on Saturday.
 
Balshaw, 28, gets the nod over Mathew Tait, who played at centre in the World Cup final but was expected to replace the retired Jason Robinson at 15.

Tait is dropped from the 22, while Mike Tindall is at centre and Luke Narraway makes his debut at number eight.

Tonga-born rugby league convert Lesley Vainikolo starts on the bench.

The 24-year-old Narraway, who was left out of Ashton’s initial Six Nations training squad, joins James Haskell and Lewis Moody in the back row.

Narraway was summoned to Twickenham last week as injury cover for Nick Easter, who has failed to recover from a knee problem.

“Luke has taken his game up two or three levels from last season,” his Gloucester team-mate Tindall told BBC Sport. “He’s been one of the players of the season for me so far. He ticks all the boxes.”

In all, Ashton has made seven changes to the side that started England’s last match, the 15-6 World Cup final defeat against South Africa in Paris in October.

Haskell comes in for former captain Martin Corry – one of four players along with Robinson, centre Mike Catt and number eight Lawrence Dallaglio who have retired from international rugby since the World Cup.

Wasps lock Simon Shaw is fit again after an ankle injury which was threatening his participation in the first two games.

Shaw will partner Steve Borthwick, who is preferred to ever-present World Cup lock Ben Kay, while Andrew Sheridan, Mark Regan and captain Phil Vickery will form the front row.

Veteran hooker Regan, who was 36 on Monday, was selected after shaking off a shoulder injury sustained at the weekend.

He will become the oldest front-row forward to appear in the Five/Six Nations since Charlie Faulkner played for Wales in 1979 just before his 38th birthday.

Jonny Wilkinson will play at fly-half ahead of rising star Dan Cipriani, who starts on the bench.

World Cup-winning centre Mike Tindall, who was unable to recover from a broken leg in time to make the 2007 event, starts alongside Toby Flood in midfield, with David Strettle and Paul Sackey, fit again after the mumps, on the wings.

Balshaw won the last of his 30 England caps against Scotland in the final game of last year’s Six Nations but was left out of the World Cup party.

He was a member of the World Cup-winning squad in 2003 and toured Australia with the Lions in 2001.

Paul Hodgson (knee), Louis Deacon (groin) and Tom Croft (shoulder) were not considered because of injury.

Ashton was already without scrum-half Peter Richards (bicep) for the entire tournament, and Joe Worsley (neck) for the first two matches.
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England: Balshaw, Sackey, Tindall, Flood, Strettle, Wilkinson, Gomarsall, Sheridan, Regan, Vickery, Shaw, Borthwick, Haskell, Moody, Narraway.
Subs: Mears, Stevens, Kay, Rees, Wigglesworth, Cipriani, Vainikolo.

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