Head coach Stuart Lancaster has revealed that Ben Youngs will be dropped by England for their Six Nations opener with France at the weekend.
The scrum-half, who featured in the British and Irish Lions series win over Australia last summer, will not travel with the rest of the squad on Thursday. Danny Care appears to be the favourite to start at the Stade de France, with Lee Dickson likely to be named on the bench as backup.
"Competition at scrum-half has been particularly tight and Danny's form leading into the Six Nations has been excellent and merits his inclusion," Lancaster said in a press conference.
"Ben misses out this time but he's a quality player and I'm sure he'll respond in the same way Danny did at the start of the year."
The 23-man matchday squad will be named on Thursday morning, with three players travelling as cover.
