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Cole starts Six Nations opener in Paris

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Dan Cole will win his 44th England cap in the RBS 6 Nations opener against France on Saturday.

Cole starts in the front row in Paris alongside Dylan Hartley (Northampton Saints) and Joe Marler (Harlequins).

His Leicester Tigers teammate Tom Youngs is named among the replacements for the game, which kicks off at 5pm.

England will field new caps Luther Burrell (Northampton Saints) and Jack Nowell (Exeter Chiefs). They will be joined by Gloucester Rugby wing Jonny May, who will win his second cap at Stade de France, and Danny Care – starting his first game for England since playing Italy in last year's tournament.

While four of the backline are changed from the team that started against New Zealand, the pack remains unchanged.

England Head Coach Stuart Lancaster said: "We can't wait for Saturday. We've had a good two weeks and all the players have pushed hard for selection.

"Congratulations to Jack and Luther who deserve their chance, as does Jonny May starting his first RBS 6 Nations game. It's also great to see Brad Barritt back with his experience and leadership in the 23, while Alex Goode will give us good cover at 15 and 10.

"We felt the pack went well in the autumn and it's right to leave it unchanged but we have some quality players, including two British Lions in Tom (Youngs) and Mako (Vunipola), to come on."

George Ford (Bath Rugby), Matt Mullan (London Wasps) and Anthony Watson (Bath Rugby) will travel as cover.

England (v France, RBS 6 Nations, Stade de France, Saturday, 5pm GMT, live on BBC Sport)
15 Mike Brown (Harlequins, 21 caps)
14 Jack Nowell (Exeter Chiefs, uncapped)
13 Luther Burrell (Northampton Saints, uncapped)
12 Billy Twelvetrees (Gloucester Rugby, 8 caps)
11 Jonny May (Gloucester Rugby, 1 cap)
10 Owen Farrell (Saracens, 19 caps)
9 Danny Care (Harlequins, 42 caps)
1 Joe Marler (Harlequins, 15 caps)
2 Dylan Hartley (Northampton Saints, 50 caps)
3 Dan Cole (Leicester Tigers, 43 caps)
4 Joe Launchbury (London Wasps, 14 caps)
5 Courtney Lawes (Northampton Saints, 25 caps)
6 Tom Wood (Northampton Saints, 23 caps)
7 Chris Robshaw (Harlequins, capt, 20 caps)
8 Billy Vunipola (Saracens, 5 caps)

Replacements
16 Tom Youngs (Leicester Tigers, 12 caps)

17 Mako Vunipola (Saracens, 10 caps)
18 Henry Thomas (Sale Sharks, 2 caps)
19 Dave Attwood (Bath Rugby, 5 caps)
20 Ben Morgan (Gloucester Rugby, 15 caps)
21 Lee Dickson (Northampton Saints, 12 caps)
22 Brad Barritt (Saracens, 16 caps)
23 Alex Goode (Saracens, 13 caps)