Sport

Voyce replaces Lewsey

Tom Voyce will replace his injured Wasps colleague, Josh Lewsey, as the solitary change in England's starting line-up to tackle…

Wed Feb 08 2006 - 00:00

Tom Voyce will replace his injured Wasps colleague, Josh Lewsey, as the solitary change in England's starting line-up to tackle Italy in Rome on Saturday.

The Wasps wing switches to fullback for his first Six Nations start, taking over from Lewsey, who suffered a shoulder injury during a 47-13 victory over Wales at Twickenham on Saturday.

Voyce went on for Lewsey midway through the first half, and he capped an impressive display by scoring England's final try.

With Voyce promoted to starting duty, Gloucester back James Simpson-Daniel is drafted into the 22 on a bench that again includes World Cup winners Lawrence Dallaglio and Matt Dawson.

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Sale Sharks' Mark Cueto, meanwhile, has recovered from a knock sustained against Wales to retain his place for the Rome trip, with England head coach Andy Robinson predictably retaining a midfield combination of Jamie Noon and Mike Tindall.

Cueto's fellow wing Ben Cohen wins his 50th cap, making him the 21st England player to reach that milestone.

Voyce made his England debut against the USA in 2001, but then had to wait three years for his next opportunity, making starts in tour defeats against New Zealand and Australia, before scoring two tries when the world champions smashed Samoa 40-3 in November.

Simpson-Daniel, meanwhile, will hope for another chance after lasting just 40 minutes during the Samoa clash before injury forced him off. He started that game at outside centre.

England's record at Stadio Flaminio is impressive, having reeled off impressive wins on three previous Six Nations visits.

Wales coach Mike Ruddock, whose side face Scotland at the Millennium Stadium on Sunday, is due to unveil his side today with the main problem surrounding a dead led to tighthead prop Adam Jones. If he is ruled out following a fitness test, then Gethin Jenkins is set for his first Wales start in 11 months.

ENGLAND (v Italy): T Voyce (Wasps); M Cueto (Sale Sharks), J Noon (Newcastle), M Tindall (Gloucester), B Cohen (Northampton); C Hodgson (Sale Sharks), H Ellis (Leicester); A Sheridan (Sale Sharks), S Thompson (Northampton), M Stevens (Bath), S Borthwick (Bath), D Grewcock (Bath), J Worsley (Wasps), L Moody (Leicester), M Corry (Leicester, capt). Replacements: L Mears (Bath), J White (Leicester), S Shaw (Wasps), L Dallaglio (Wasps), M Dawson (Wasps), A Goode (Leicester), J Simpson-Daniel (Gloucester).