Johnson unveils final squad

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England manager Martin Johnson has named his final 22-man squad to face Australia in the opening autumn international on Saturday.

The former England captain has released 10 players ahead of the Twickenham showdown after injuries had forced him to delay the naming of his squad 24 hours.

Toulon fly-half Jonny Wilkinson retains his place in the final squad, with Northampton youngster Courtney Lawes and Biarritz centre Ayoola Erinle primed for debuts off the bench.

Indeed, England's probable starting XV to tackle the Wallabies will be one of the most inexperienced of all time.

A total of 11 players in the squad have notched up 13 caps or less, six of whom can count their international appearances on one hand.

Promising

Recognised veterans Lewis Moody and skipper Steve Borthwick join Wilkinson in the final party, however injuries have sidelined centres Riki Flutey and Mike Tindall to name but a few.

Northampton hooker Dylan Hartley has been given every chance to prove his fitness following a hamstring strain, however Saints team-mate Ben Foden is among those released from the final squad.

Internationals Ben Kay, Nick Kennedy and Mathew Tait also miss out, more or less guaranteeing that Ugo Monye, Matt Banahan and Mark Cueto will start in the back three, with Shane Geraghty and Dan Hipkiss in midfield.

An all-Leicester Tigers back-row has also been named, with Louis Deacon expected to keep his second-row place alongside captain Borthwick - uncapped Northampton lock Lawes starting on the bench.

Moody and Lions flanker Tom Croft are guaranteed starters in the back row, with Johnson to choose between their Tigers colleague Jordan Crane and in-form Stade Francais loose-forward James Haskell.

Should Hartley fail to overcome his muscle strain, Brive's Steve Thompson will start at hooker alongside loosehead Tim Payne and, probably, David Wilson, the promising Bath tighthead prop.

Even though England have now lost 27 of their 64-man elite squad to injury, Johnson insisted they have enough strength in depth to challenge Australia, Argentina and New Zealand.

He cited the example of full-back Delon Armitage who, although missing this time around, leapt to prominence 12 months ago having initially been outside the 64.

"Delon last year got his opportunity through injury - now he finds himself injured, and someone else gets the chance," Johnson said.

"From the coaches' point of view we want continuity as much as we can get it but there are always going to be changes.

"Hopefully these injuries are an exceptional period, and by the Six Nations we'll be in the 90 per cent region of who we can pick from.

"We're not talking about excuses. We're not talking about the guys who aren't here, we're talking about the guys who are here. That's the way it is.

"Coaches are used to injury. Maybe not this many - of course not - but that's where we are. We're getting ready to play.

"If we perform how we can we will give ourselves a chance of winning. Some young players now have a chance and we have brought back some older players. There is a good blend in the squad."

Severe test

This weekend's opponents arrive at Twickenham on the back of six defeats in seven Tests following last Saturday's Bledisloe Cup reversal to New Zealand in Tokyo.

Even so, Johnson refused to read too much into Australia's poor run of form, which saw them finish bottom of the Tri-Nations and prompted head coach Robbie Deans to bring younger players to the fore.

"We've got no doubt as to the severity of the test we'll face at the weekend," Johnson added.

"They play the top two teams in the world a lot. It's going to be harder to get wins. They have beaten South Africa this year, they're used to playing at a very high level.

"There's no way we're going to read anything into those losses."

England's 22-man squad to play Australia at Twickenham:

Forwards: D Bell (Bath), S Borthwick (Saracens, capt), J Crane (Leicester), T Croft (Leicester), L Deacon (Leicester), D Hartley (Northampton), J Haskell (Stade Francais), C Lawes (Northampton), L Moody (Leicester), T Payne (Wasps), S Thompson (Brive), D Wilson (Bath).

Backs: M Banahan (Bath), D Care (Harlequins), M Cueto (Sale Sharks), A Erinle (Biarritz), S Geraghty (Northampton), A Goode (Brive), D Hipkiss (Leicester), P Hodgson (London Irish), U Monye (Harlequins), J Wilkinson (Toulon).