Danny Care will have the chance to put his England axe behind him on Friday, when he turns out for Harlequins against Agen in the Challenge Cup.
The scrum-half was left out of head coach Eddie Jones’s 35-man squad yesterday for their Six Nations opener against Ireland on February 2 in favour of Wasps man Dan Robson.
The omission is a blow to Care’s hopes of making England’s World Cup squad later this year but he has the chance to show Jones what he is missing tonight in France.
The 32-year-old will captain Harlequins, after head of rugby Paul Gustard named a strong side knowing that victory will secure top spot in Pool 5 and a place in the quarter-finals.
Nathan Earle returns on the wing in what is the only change in the backline. In the pack, Harlequins are boosted by the return of Jack Clifford at flanker, who also earned a spot in England’s squad to face Ireland next month. Prop Joe Marler starts, too, as do second row Ben Glynn and flanker Luke Wallace.
However, co-captains James Horwill and Chris Robshaw, who was also left out of Jones’s England squad as he recovers from a knee injury, are not fit enough to feature.
“As a squad our mindset and desire is always to win the next thing, whether it is the next scrum, the next maul, the next tackle or the next carry,” said Gustard.
“So our focus has been solely on winning in Agen all week. Nothing else.”
