England coach Clive Woodward has dropped Neil Back and given a first cap to 20-year-winger James Simpson-Daniel in his team to face New Zealand at Twickenham on Saturday.
Gloucester winger Simpson-Daniel, a product of the renowned rugby academy Sedbergh School which also boasts Will Carling and Will Greenwood among its past pupils, starred for England in a non-cap game against the Barbarians five months ago.
He scored a stunning solo try, giving Jonah Lomu the runaround in the process, and probably would been capped against Argentina a month later had it not been for injury.
With the likes of Dan Luger and Iain Balshaw currently recovering from injury, Saturday's Test give Simpson-Daniel a perfect opportunity to stake his World Cup claim.
The news is less good for Neil Back, who captained England for part of last season's Six Nations campaign, however.
The 33-year-old, who won his 50th cap last season, misses out behind a back row of Lewis Moody, Richard Hill and Lawrence Dallaglio - and now faces an uphill fight for next year's World Cup.
Elsewhere, Bath captain Danny Grewcock edges out Ben Kay to partner skipper Martin Johnson in the second row while Gloucester prop Trevor Woodman wins his sixth cap, but his first appearance in an England starting line-up as Clive Woodward makes six changes to the side that beat Italy in the Six Nations back in the Spring.
During the Woodward reign, which began in September 1997, England have met New Zealand five times, drawing once and losing on four occasions.
New Zealand were also the last team to beat England at Twickenham, winning a 1999 World Cup group game 30-16. Since then, England have reeled off 15 successive Test wins on home soil.
England team to play New Zealand at Twickenham on Saturday: J Robinson (Sale Sharks); J Simpson-Daniel (Gloucester), W Greenwood (Harlequins), M Tindall (Bath), B Cohen (Northampton);J Wilkinson (Newcastle), M Dawson (Northampton); T Woodman (Gloucester), S Thompson (Northampton), P Vickery (Gloucester), M Johnson (Leicester, capt), D Grewcock (Bath), L Moody (Leicester), R Hill (Saracens), L Dallaglio (Wasps).
Replacements: M Regan (Leeds), J Leonard (Harlequins), B Kay (Leicester), N Back (Leicester), A Healey (Leicester), B Johnston (Saracens), T Stimpson (Leicester).
