England to raise intensity
Easter though, could edge towards pole position on Saturday when the world champions play their final tournament warm-up game against France in Marseille.
A fortnight after his record four-try display helped dismantle Wales, Easter faces an infinitely tougher task as England visit one of French rugby’s most intimidating venues and head coach Ashton wanted to field his strongest starting XV.
But while a combination of the hospitalised Andrew Sheridan and a largely meaningless stroll past Wales earlier this month has effectively dashed those hopes, Easter starts, with 35-year-old Dallaglio on the bench.
Elsewhere, Wasps flanker Tom Rees makes his first appearance during the warm-up schedule.
He recovered from a knee problem earlier this summer, but was then sidelined by a hamstring strain, missing the Twickenham matches with Wales and France.
The 22-year-old now packs down in an England side showing 12 changes from the one beaten 21-15 by France at the weekend.
Scrum-half Shaun Perry and lock Simon Shaw both play in their third successive August fixture, while wing Josh Lewsey is also retained.
In contrast, full-back Mark Cueto, prop Perry Freshwater and hooker George Chuter join Rees in being handed first appearances of the pre-tournament programme.
The importance Ashton has attached to England’s Marseille mission is potentially good news for ex-Great Britain rugby league captain Andy Farrell.
Farrell resumes his centre partnership with Leicester’s Dan Hipkiss, who made his bow during the record 62-5 romp against Wales.
The Easter-Dallaglio debate though, is threatening to occupy centre-stage as England build towards their World Cup opener against the USA in Lens on September 8.
Ashton said: “Against Wales, Nick Easter had an armchair ride. Now, he has to put a marker down and say ‘I am good enough to be number eight’. It would be wrong to interpret that Easter was ahead of Dallaglio at the moment.
“In terms of fitness, I’ve never seen Dallaglio work as hard. That is a tribute to the nature of the guy – he’s been through it all before, and he wants to do it again.”
Despite Ashton having named his 30-man World Cup squad, he wants to see intensity levels increased and competition for places remain rife as the countdown continues towards Lens.
The back-to-back clashes against France should at least compensate for what was a non-event against Wales.
Ashton added: “Given the nature of the Welsh game, which we couldn’t control, it would be really unfair to judge 30 guys on a game like that.
“Hopefully, the intensity will go up. For all the players, Saturday is a big evening.
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