Twelvetrees moves closer to Eng debut
Uncapped centre Billy Twelvetrees could be handed his England debut in the Six Nations opener against Scotland at Twickenham on Saturday after being retained in coach Stuart Lancaster's 23-man squad.
England will be without the injured Manu Tuilagi for tournament opener and Lancaster has preferred Twelvetrees overJonathan Joseph who has been left out.
Twelvetrees would start at inside centre with Brad Barritt switching to outside.
The explosive Tuilagi has failed to recover from an ankle injury, although the Rugby Football Union (RFU) said on Tuesday he would remain with the squad for treatment.
England will name their team on Thursday.
SQUAD:
Forwards: Dan Cole, Dylan Hartley, James Haskell, Joe Launchbury, Courtney Lawes, Joe Marler, Ben Morgan, Geoff Parling, Chris Robshaw, Mako Vunipola, David Wilson, Tom Wood, Tom Youngs
Backs: Chris Ashton, Brad Barritt, Mike Brown, Danny Care, Owen Farrell, Toby Flood, Alex Goode, David Strettle,Billy Twelvetrees, Ben Youngs
