Matthew Rees out of England clash

England have been handed a boost for their Six Nations opener after Wales hooker Matthew Rees today lost his battle to be fit for the Twickenham match.

Last Saturday the Scarlets man made his first start since tearing a groin muscle against Australia in November.

And although Rees earned a glowing tribute from club coach Nigel Davies following his 50-minute appearance against London Wasps, the Lions player has since suffered a recurrence of the injury.

As a result, Cardiff Blues' Gareth Williams will win his eighth cap, packing down in the front-row alongside props Gethin Jenkins and Adam Jones on Saturday.

"We are disappointed for Matthew but he returned to us with a sore groin after playing at the weekend and has not responded to treatment as quickly as we would have liked," said Wales head coach Warren Gatland.

"However, Gareth has been in great form for his region and produced some impressive performances in recent weeks. He is surrounded by a wealth of experience throughout the forwards."

Full-back Lee Byrne starts after winning an appeal last night against a two-week ban imposed on him following his brief appearance as an illegal 16th player during Ospreys' Heineken Cup victory over Leicester 11 days ago.

His availability means Gatland is able to field a centre pairing of James Hook and Jamie Roberts.

For Hook, it is a first start at outside centre during a 37-cap Test career that has seen him play at full-back, inside centre and fly-half.

Wales: L Byrne (Ospreys); T James (Blues), J Hook (Ospreys), J Roberts (Blues), S Williams(Ospreys); S Jones (Scarlets), G Cooper (Blues); G Jenkins (Blues), G Williams (Blues), A Jones (Ospreys), A-W Jones (Ospreys), L Charteris (Newport), A Powell (Blues), M Williams (Blues), R Jones (Ospreys, capt). Reps: H Bennett (Ospreys), P James (Ospreys),
B Davies (Blues), J Thomas (Ospreys), R Rees (Blues), A Bishop (Ospreys), L Halfpenny (Blues)