Richard Hill will lead England for the first time on Saturday in the World Cup celebration match against the New Zealand Barbarians at Twickenham after Phil Vickery withdrew yesterday with a rib injury.
The Gloucester prop Vickery will be out of action until the new year after picking up the problem against Bourgoin on Saturday. He was one of four players to pull out of the England squad after the weekend action.
Trevor Woodman took his club-mate Vickery's place while the prop Matt Stevens, the wing Ben Cohen and the flanker Martin Corry came in for Mike Worsley, Iain Balshaw and Lewis Moody respectively. It lifts the number of squad members who started the World Cup final against Australia last month from five to six.
"I'm bitterly disappointed to be missing out," said Vickery. "It was all set up for a very proud moment at Twickenham but I've been advised to rest up for a few days and let the injury settle down as it is very painful at the moment.
"I'll be in regular communi cation with the medical experts at Gloucester over the next few days and we'll take it from there. But it looks as if I will be out for at least a couple of weeks."
The Saracens' flanker Hill joins his World Cup international back-row colleagues Lawrence Dallaglio and Neil Back on the England captain's board, though caps will not be awarded on Saturday.
The New Zealand Barbarians arrived in Britain two players short of a full squad following the withdrawals of the Fiji wing Rupeni Caucaunibuca and the Canterbury centre Nathan Mauger. Their coach Bryan Williams is hoping to replace them with Leeds's Argentina wing Diego Albanese and Leicester's former New Zealand centre Daryl Gibson.
Other Premiership players Mark Robinson, Bruce Reihana and Jacob Raulini have also been sounded out but Gloucester's New Zealand-born England centre Henry Paul has turned down an invitation to play.
Williams said he was disappointed England would not be fielding a full side.
"I appreciate the reasons why they will be below strength but we were looking forward to facing the team which beat Australia," he said.
"Saturday is very much a celebration occasion for English rugby and we can get on with our preparations quietly. We have had problems putting a team together but we will be competitive."
The entire England squad will parade with the Webb Ellis Cup after the match.
England squad: Abbott (Wasps), Bracken (Saracens), Cohen (Northampton), Corry (Leicester), Gomarsall (Gloucester), Grayson (Northampton), Grewcock (Bath), Hill (Saracens, capt), Hodgson (Sale), Regan (Leeds), Robinson (Sale), Sanderson (Sale), Shaw (Wasps), Sheridan (Sale), Simpson-Daniel (Gloucester), Smith (Leicester), Stevens (Bath), Thompson (Northampton), Tindall (Bath), Vyvyan (Newcastle), Woodman (Gloucester), J Worsley (Wasps).
