England recall Stevens for rugby W. Cup warm-up

Matt Stevens is set to make his first England appearance in nearly three years following a drugs ban after being named in the team for a World Cup warm-up match against Wales at Twickenham on Saturday. Prop forward Stevens, now with Premiership champions Saracens, won his last England cap in November 2008, but shortly afterwards, while a Bath player, he tested positive for cocaine and was banned for two years. However, impressive displays for Saracens have seen Stevens make a late bid for a place in England's 30-man squad for the World Cup in New Zealand, which starts next month. "Matt is a very smart player, obviously he can do the work in the tight phases but he is a very smart rugby player as well," England manager Martin Johnson said after announcing his team. "Having those (attributes) on the field in those positions is very important so it is a good opportunity for him." Meanwhile 20-year-old Leicester centre Manu Tuilagi, who comes from a family of Samoa rugby stars, is set to make his England debut on Saturday after being named in midfield. "He played some very good rugby last year in a tough Premiership and in Europe, so we are looking forward to seeing him play," Johnson said of Tuilagi, the Premiership young player of the year last season but a player who missed Leicester's Premiership final loss to Saracens after punching Northampton and England wing Chris Ashton in the semi-final. Tuilagi, whose four elder brothers have played Test rugby for Samoa but who is himself qualified for England on residency grounds, will start in a new-look midfield partnership alongside Riki Flutey. That meant there was no place for Mike Tindall, who played in the 2003 England World Cup-winning side captained by Johnson, following the centre's marraige to Zara Phillips, grandaughter of Britain's Queen Elizabeth II, last weekend. Johnson's team features several players making Test comebacks. Back-row Lewis Moody missed this season's Six Nations title-winning campaign with knee ligament damage but was named captain on Thursday of a side featuring Tom Croft at blindside flanker and James Haskell at No 8. Johnson welcomed Moody's return but refused to confirm if he would be his World Cup captain. "We'll see. We're going to go into this game and we'll see where we are," he said. "Lewis is outstanding as a leader, he missed the Six Nations and he was hugely frustrated with that." England great Jonny Wilkinson starts at outside-half in place of Toby Flood and Johnson said: "Toby has started for the last season or so but we said at the start of the year that we've got good options there. "Jonny has trained as he always does, he has been absolutely outstanding and he's still got a lot in him." England also play Wales in Cardiff a week on Saturday before concluding their warm-up campaign against Ireland in Dublin on August 27. "Wales's team is very strong," Johnson said. "It's a pre-season game in one sense but when we get there on Saturday and it's a full house, it's a Test match, and that's what we want -- we want the games to be as intense and as hard as we can make them, because that's what the World Cup is going to be (like) when we get there." England will be bidding for a third straight World Cup final appearance, having beaten hosts Australia in 2003 before losing to South Africa in Paris four years ago. They beat Wales 26-19 when the teams last met, during the Six Nations, in Cardiff in February. England (15-1) Delon Armitage; Matt Banahan, Manu Tuilagi, Riki Flutey, Mark Cueto; Jonny Wilkinson, Danny Care; James Haskell, Lewis Moody (capt), Tom Croft; Tom Palmer, Simon Shaw; Matt Stevens, Dylan Hartley, Alex Corbisiero Replacements: Lee Mears, David Wilson, Mouritz Botha, Tom Wood, Richard Wigglesworth, Charlie Hodgson, Charlie Sharples