Mike Tindall to Captain England in Six Nations Opener; Debut for Tom Wood

Mike Tindall was named England captain for the opening Six Nations championship match against Wales in Cardiff in two days, the Rugby Football Union said.

Flank forward Tom Wood will make his debut for England, which has been hit by injuries to players including captain Lewis Moody, Courtney Lawes and Tom Croft.

England team: B. Foden (Northampton Saints); C. Ashton (Northampton Saints), M. Tindall (Gloucester, capt.), S. Hape (Bath), M. Cueto (Sale Sharks); T. Flood (Leicester Tigers), B. Youngs (Leicester Tigers); A. Sheridan (Sale Sharks), D. Hartley (Northampton Saints), D. Cole (Leicester Tigers), L. Deacon (Leicester Tigers), T. Palmer (Stade Francais), T. Wood Northampton Saints), J. Haskell (Stade Francais), N. Easter (Harlequins). Replacements: S. Thompson (Leeds Carnegie), D. Wilson (Bath), S. Shaw (Wasps), J. Worsley (Wasps), D. Care (Harlequins), J. Wilkinson (Toulon), M. Banahan (Bath).

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Peter-Joseph Hegarty at phegarty@bloomberg.net