Parling recalled in England team

London - Leicester lock Geoff Parling was recalled by England head coach Stuart Lancaster on Thursday for Saturday's decisive Six Nations showdown with France at Twickenham.

Parling comes into the second row in place of Dave Attwood, who drops out of the squad, in the only change to the team that overcame Scotland 25-13 last weekend. Harlequins number eight Nick Easter returns to the bench.

"Geoff did well off the bench against Scotland and now that he has got some games under his belt we feel it is the right time to start him and use his experience and quality in the starting line-up," Lancaster said in a statement.