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Harrison to make Eng debut against Wales

Harrison, qualified for England through his Nottingham-born father, was one of four uncapped players included in England coach Eddie Jones's matchday 23.

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In-form Northampton loose forward Harrison replaces the rested Chris Robshaw, one of the mainstays of the England side that won the Six Nations with a grand slam earlier this season in what will be the team's last match before next month's three-Test tour of Australia.

Meanwhile, the uncapped trio of Bath cente Ollie Devoto, Sale hooker Tommy Taylor and Leicester loosehead prop Ellis Genge were included as replacements in the matchday 23 announced by Jones on Friday.

England will be without players from Saracens and Exeter, who contest the Premiership Final at Twickenham on Saturday.

Saracens alone provided several England grand slam winners in Owen Farrell, the Vunipola brothers, Billy and Mako, locks George Kruis and Maro Itoje and reserve fullback Alex Goode.

Sunday's England side will see Harlequins' Jack Clifford start at No.8 in place of Billy Vunipola, with Wasps' Joe Launchbury and Northampton's Courtney Lawes restored to the second row in place of Kruis and Itoje.

Harlequins wing Marland Yarde, Northampton centre Luther Burrell and Wasps loosehead prop all start in a team again Harrison to make Eng debut against Walescaptained by hooker Dylan Hartley. 

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Sunday's match will be Wales' last before their tour of New Zealand and coach Warren Gatland is due to name his side later Friday.

"We've picked a side we believe can beat Wales," said England head coach Jones. 

"It's a good mixture of experienced players and youth.

"Obviously we have a number of players missing from the squad who are taking part in the Premiership Final but this provides us with a great opportunity to expose other players to Test rugby. This will serve to strengthen the squad's depth as we move towards the 2019 World Cup.

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"We’ve prepared well this week and I'm pleased with the progress the squad have made in the time we've had together. There's been plenty of energy and enthusiasm and you can tell the lads have enjoyed being back in camp.

"As always there were some tight calls on selection and that's how we want it. There are some new faces to the squad. Teimana Harrison gets a start at six, which is a great chance for him to make a statement ahead of the tour to Australia. Ellis Genge and Tommy Taylor have all trained well this week and deserve their spots in the 23.    

"This is an important Test match and a great opportunity for us to play some positive, physical rugby. We are a young team learning our craft, Wales are an experienced team; it"ll be great test for us.

"We can't wait to get back to Twickenham to play in front of a massive crowd. England versus Wales is a special occasion and we look forward to giving our loyal fans something to cheer about."  

England: 15 Mike Brown, 14 Anthony Watson, 13 Jonathan Joseph, 12 Luther Burrell, 11 Marland Yarde, 10 George Ford, 9 Ben Youngs, 8 Jack Clifford, 7 James Haskell, 6 Teimana Harrison, 5 Courtney Lawes, 4 Joe Launchbury, 3 Dan Cole, 2 Dylan Hartley, 1 Matt Mullan.

Replacements: 16 Tommy Taylor, 17 Ellis Genge, 18 Paul Hill, 19 Dave Attwood, 20 Matt Kvesic, 21 Danny Care 22 Ollie Devoto, 23 Elliot Daly.

Date: Sunday, May 29

Venue: Twickenham Stadium, London

Kick-off: 15.00 (14.00 GMT)

Referee: Marius Mitrea (Italy)

Assistant referees: John Lacey (Ireland), George Clancy (Ireland)

TMO: Simon McDowell (Ireland)

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