England pick side to face Wales

London - Luther Burrell and Jonathan Joseph will form a new midfield partnership after England coach Stuart Lancaster announced his team on Wednesday for Friday's Six Nations opener against Wales in Cardiff.

Meanwhile the experienced pair of flyhalf Danny Cipriani and back-row forward Nick Easter found themselves on the bench as they were both recalled to Test duty.

Prop Dan Cole returns at tighthead having recovered from a foot problem for his first Test appearance in almost a year.

"Jonathan has been one of the form centres in the country. He and Luther have trained well together and this is a big opportunity for both of them," said Lancaster in a Rugby Football Union statement.

England have been beset by injuries and Wednesday's team features only nine survivors from the side that started the 26-17 victory over Australia at Twickenham in the climax to the November programme, and just five from the XV thrashed 30-3 by Wales in Cardiff two years ago.

The Six Nations clash between England and Wales has been given added spice by the fact they are in the same pool at the World Cup later this year.

Teams:

Wales

15 Leigh Halfpenny, 14 Alex Cuthbert, 13 Jonathan Davies, 12 Jamie Roberts, 11 George North, 10 Dan Biggar, 9 Rhys Webb, 8 Taulupe Faletau, 7 Sam Warburton (captain), 6 Dan Lydiate, 5 Alun Wyn Jones, 4 Jake Ball, 3 Samson Lee, 2 Richard Hibbard, 1 Gethin Jenkins

Substitutes: 16 Scott Baldwin, 17 Paul James, 18 Aaron Jarvis, 19 Luke Charteris, 20 Justin Tipuric, 21 Mike Phillips, 22 Rhys Priestland, 23 Liam Williams

England

15 Mike Brown, 14 Anthony Watson, 13 Jonathan Joseph, 12 Luther Burrell, 11 Jonny May, 10 George Ford, 9 Ben Youngs, 8 Billy Vunipola, 7 Chris Robshaw (captain), 6 James Haskell, 5 George Kruis, 4 Dave Attwood, 3 Dan Cole, 2 Dylan Hartley, 1 Joe Marler

Substitutes: 16 Tom Youngs, 17 Mako Vunipola, 18 Kieran Brookes, 19 Tom Croft, 20 Nick Easter, 21 Richard Wigglesworth, 22 Danny Cipriani, 23 Billy Twelvetrees