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Old boy, new cap Waters to start against US Eagles
SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) -- Harrow old boy Fraser Waters will win his first England cap on Saturday when the tourists face the U.S. Eagles in San Francisco. England manager Clive Woodward has also given promotion to teenager Ollie Barkley, fellow Bath player Tom Voyce and Leeds lock Tom Palmer, all three of whom were named on the bench. Wasps center Waters wins his England selection because of an injury to winger Paul Sampson. Woodward has opted to switch Leicester center Leon Lloyd to the wing position and bring in Waters in the number 13 slot. Waters, born in Cape Town of English parents, has looked the part in both midweek tour matches with his incisive running in midfield and sense of timing in the pass creating a number of scoring opportunities. His promotion was more of surprise to the player himself than those who have watched his steady improvement on tour. "I hoped I might sneak on to the bench," said Waters. "For me this tour was a bonus. There were six centers picked for the tour party and just getting a game was great for me." Waters absorbed rugby as a boy growing up in South Africa. "I used to watch all the Western Province matches at Newlands," he recalled. "Dannie Herber was my hero in those days." The family moved back to England when Waters was aged 11 where he attended Harrow and Bristol University. He gained representative honors with England Colts and England under 21s, and despite a groin problem that kept him out of the game for 18 months, he did not stop improving. After leaving the Bristol club he joined London Wasps, a club which in percentage terms has profited from this tour. "There are six guys from Wasps on the tour. I was the last to get capped. All six of us have re-signed for next season," said Waters, who is equally comfortable in either of the center positions. "I've played a bit at inside center but at Wasps I've been more of an outside center." "We didn't consider anyone who was not 100 per cent fit," said Woodward, confident that Waters can fill the outside center role. "We had to make a change. Fraser was outstanding yesterday in the match against the U.S. A team. He comes in on merit. There is no sense of demotion for Leon moving him to the wing. "I'm also very excited about the bench. Ollie Barkley and Tom Palmer fully deserve their place on the bench. Tom Voyce has also come through well gaining valuable experience on this tour," Woodward said. "Ollie is a front line goal kicker but his all round game was impressive in Los Angeles. As for Tom Palmer he's been very impressive on this tour. He's a very good ball handler" added the England manager. Woodward also confirmed that if West were not available for Saturday, then Mark Regan would start the match and Andy Long would remain on the bench as the reserve hooker, the England manager clearly keeping in mind the possibility of West getting a call-up to the Lions tour party. Lyle to play for Eagles Bath forward Dan Lyle is set to win his 31st cap for the American Eagles when he lines up against England in Saturday's test match in San Francisco. Lyle will take his place in the team despite suffering a triple nose break and fractured cheekbone in the recent test against Argentina. He is the most experienced player in an American side that will field a number of other Europe-based professionals against an England side that will be confident of ending its five-match tour of North America unbeaten. These include the Llanelli flanker Dave Hodges, who will captain the side, Roma locks Luke Gross and Philippe Farmer, and the Montferrand scrumhalf Kevin Dalzell. The Eagles side contains several players who are products of a burgeoning high school system that is beginning to develop rugby as a recognizable sport in the U.S. Most prominent of this new group are prop Mike MacDonald and flankers Kevin Schubert and Alex Magleby. England has already seen two of the Eagles in action, wingers Jone Naqica and Jovesa Naivula, who both scored tries for a representative side in a midweek game against England in Los Angeles. Head coach Duncan Hall, who worked at Leicester for a brief spell, believes that his side will relish the chance of playing against England. "Our guys enjoy a physical contest and what we're trying to do is complement this with more subtlety in passing. "Our main problem is getting the guys together. Because of the geography of this country, squad sessions are very expensive. But the guys are prepared to overcome this," Hall said. Other than their six overseas players the Eagles will be fielding an amateur side. "Professionalism really hurt us. Until we can get some kind of funding for the sport here, we will not be able to break through. "I don't think that we can make the step-up with what we've got," said Lyle, who appreciates the value that live television coverage of Saturday's test will make to rugby in the U.S. "It's a fantastic opportunity to enlarge our domestic audience and the game in America," Lyle added. United States: 15-Kurt Shuman (New York AC), 14-Jone Naqica (Denver Barbarians), 13-Philip Eloff (Chicago Lions), 12-Juan Grobler (Gentlemen of Aspen), 11-Jovesa Naivula, 10-Grant Wells (Golden Gate), 9-Kevin Dalzell (Montferrand), 8-Dan Lyle (Bath), 7-Kort Schubert (UC Berkeley), 6-Dave Hodges (Llanelli) captain, 5-Philippe Farmer (Roma), 4-Luke Gross (Roma), 3-Paul Still (Golden Gate), 2-Kirk Khasigian (Sacramento), 1-Mike MacDonald (UC Berkeley). Replacements 16-Robbie Flynn (Golden Gate), 17-Andy McGarry (Chicago Lions), 18-Olo Fifita (Hayward Old Blues), 19-Alex Magleby (Silverdale, NZ), 20-Kimball Kjar (BYU), 21-Link Wilfley (Wests, Brisbane), 22-Mose Timoteo (Hayward Old Blues) England: 15-Josh Lewsey (London Wasps), 14-Leon Lloyd (Leicester),13-Fraser Waters (London Wasps), 12-Jamie Noon (Newcastle), 11-Michael Stephenson (Newcastle), 10-Dave Walder (Newcastle), 9-Kyran Bracken (Saracens), 8-Joe Worseley (London Wasps), 7-Lewis Moody (Leicester), 6-Steve White-Cooper (Harlequins), 5-Steve Borthwick (Bath) , 4-Simon Shaw (London Wasps), 3-Julian White (Saracens), 2-Dorian West (Leicester), 1-Graham Rowntree (Leicester). Replacements 16-Andy Long (Bath), 17-Dave Flatman (Saracens), 18-Tom Palmer (Leeds Tykes), 19-Pat Sanderson (Harlequins), 20-Martyn Wood (London Wasps), 21-Ollie Barkley (Bath), 22-Tom Voyce (Bath).
Copyright 2003 Reuters Limited. All rights reserved.
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