Share

Strettle out of England side

London - England wing David Strettle pulled out of the Six Nations clash with France on Saturday after suffering an injury, with his place in the starting XV going to Charlie Sharples.

Strettle failed a fitness test after suffering a flare-up of a chest injury and will now be replaced on the left wing by Gloucester's Hong Kong-born youngster Charlie Sharples for Sunday's clash at the Stade de France, the Rugby Football Union confirmed.

"Charlie has trained with us throughout the tournament so he has spent a lot of time with the other guys," England interim coach Stuart Lancaster said in a statement.

"He almost made the World Cup squad and this is a great opportunity for him. It's unfortunate for David but he has been fitness tested by the medics this morning and is not 100 percent so it is a straight swap and Charlie is ready to go," Lancaster added.

The 22-year-old Sharples will be making his first Test start on Sunday, with his one previous cap coming as a replacement against Wales in a World Cup warm-up match at Twickenham last year.

Revised England team:

15 Ben Foden, 14 Chris Ashton, 13 Manu Tuilagi, 12 Brad Barritt, 11 Charlie Sharples, 10 Owen Farrell, 9 Lee Dickson, 8 Ben Morgan, 7 Chris Robshaw (captain), 6 Tom Croft, 5 Geoff Parling, 4 Mouritz Botha, 3 Dan Cole, 2 Dylan Hartley, 1 Alex Corbisiero

Substitutes: 16 Rob Webber, 17 Matt Stevens, 18 Tom Palmer, 19 Phil Dowson, 20 Ben Youngs, 21 Charlie Hodgson, 22 Mike Brown

We live in a world where facts and fiction get blurred
Who we choose to trust can have a profound impact on our lives. Join thousands of devoted South Africans who look to News24 to bring them news they can trust every day. As we celebrate 25 years, become a News24 subscriber as we strive to keep you informed, inspired and empowered.
Join News24 today
heading
description
username
Show Comments ()
Voting Booth
Should the Proteas pick Faf du Plessis for the T20 World Cup in West Indies and the United States in June?
Please select an option Oops! Something went wrong, please try again later.
Results
Yes! Faf still has a lot to give ...
68% - 2733 votes
No! It's time to move on ...
32% - 1281 votes
Vote
Editorial feedback and complaints

Contact the public editor with feedback for our journalists, complaints, queries or suggestions about articles on News24.

LEARN MORE