BATH Rugby quartet Dave Attwood, George Ford, Jonathan Joseph and Anthony Watson will all start for England in the RBS 6 Nations opener away to Wales on Friday night.

England head coach Stuart Lancaster has been hampered by a spate of injuries in the build up to the crunch clash at the Millennium Stadium and has been forced to make six changes to the starting XV that beat Australia in their last Test in November.

Fly-half Ford, lock Attwood and wing Watson were all part of the side that overcame the Wallabies at Twickenham.

Centre Joseph comes into the side for his first Test appearance since the summer tour of Argentina in 2013 and forms a new partnership alongside Luther Burrell.

Lancaster said: “Jonathan has been one of the form centres in the country. He and Luther have trained well together and this is a big opportunity for both of them.”

Bath’s injured tighthead prop Davey Wilson is replaced by Dan Cole and starts in the front row alongside Joe Marler and hooker Dylan Hartley.

Attwood is joined in the second row by George Kruis, while captain Chris Robshaw combines in the back-row with James Haskell and Billy Vunipola.

Ben Youngs is named at scrum-half, while wing Jonny May and full-back Mike Brown are England’s other starters.

Lancaster added: "We've had to make some tight calls but we are excited about the side selected for what will be big challenge.

"Billy Vunipola has been playing well for Saracens and it's good to be able to give George Kruis his first international start after his impressive run off the bench in November.

"Dan Cole and James Haskell bring a lot of experience, as do the bench, and their contribution will be crucial on Friday night."

England side to face Wales: 15 Mike Brown (Harlequins, 33 caps), 14 Anthony Watson (Bath Rugby, 4 caps), 13 Jonathan Joseph (Bath Rugby, 6 caps), 12 Luther Burrell (Northampton Saints, 7 caps), 11 Jonny May (Gloucester Rugby, 11 caps), 10 George Ford (Bath Rugby, 6 caps), 9 Ben Youngs (Leicester Tigers, 42 caps), 1 Joe Marler (Harlequins, 26 caps), 2 Dylan Hartley (Northampton Saints, 61 caps), 3 Dan Cole (Leicester Tigers, 45 caps), 4 David Attwood (Bath Rugby, 16 caps), 5 George Kruis (Saracens, 4 caps), 6 James Haskell (Wasps, 53 caps), 7 Chris Robshaw (captain, Harlequins, 32 caps), 8 Billy Vunipola (Saracens, 12 caps).

Replacements: 16 Tom Youngs (Leicester Tigers, 17 caps), 17 Mako Vunipola (Saracens, 15 caps), 18 Kieran Brookes (Newcastle Falcons, 6 caps), 19 Tom Croft (Leicester Tigers, 38 caps), 20 Nick Easter (Harlequins, 47 caps), 21 Richard Wigglesworth (Saracens, 16 caps), 22 Danny Cipriani (Sale Sharks, 9 caps), 23 Billy Twelvetrees (Gloucester Rugby, 16 caps).