Rugby Union: England Coach Brian Ashton Has Included the Uncapped Mike Brown, Nick Wood and Dean Schofield for Saturday's First Test Against South Africa

England coach Brian Ashton has named three uncapped players in his team for Saturday's first Test against South Africa in Bloemfontein. Harlequins full-back Mike Brown, Gloucester prop Nick Wood and Sale Sharks lock Dean Schofield will make their debuts.

Brown only made his first-team bow for Quins last season, while Wood and Schofield are also rewarded for impressive campaigns with their clubs.

England have travelled to South Africa with a severely depleted squad and that level of inexperience is inevitably reflected in Ashton's line-up, which has a total of 172 caps. But 131 of those are shared by just three players - captain Jason Robinson, fly-half Jonny Wilkinson and hooker Mark Regan.

Regan will be making his his first Test appearance since the 51-15 defeat against Australia in Brisbane almost three years ago, and will pack down in the front row with his fellow 35-year-old, Sale prop Stuart Turner.

There are just three survivors from England's last game, the Six Nations Championship defeat against Wales in Cardiff; they are Robinson, fellow wing David Strettle and center Mathew Tait.

Much-maligned Saracens center Andy Farrell is recalled to partner Tait in midfield after recovering from a back problem, while Peter Richards has beaten off the challenges of scrum-half rivals Andy Gomarsall and Shaun Perry to wear the No9 shirt.

In the forwards, Ashton has focused on players who have made a mark for their clubs in recent months, with Wood joined in the pack by his Gloucester colleagues Alex Brown and Andy Hazell.

Flanker Hazell has been one of the Guinness Premiership's dominant figures this term, and he will win his seventh cap in the back row with Chris Jones at blindside flanker and Nick Easter at No8.

There are also three uncapped players on the bench - Saracens hooker Matt Cairns, together with Bristol forwards Darren Crompton and Roy Winters - but Gomarsall, Worcester flanker Pat Sanderson and Gloucester back Iain Balshaw provide plenty of experience in reserve. Saracens forward Ben Skirving is the solitary player among seven uncapped squad members who does not feature in the Test 22.

England, who will face South Africa in a crucial World Cup pool clash in Paris on September 14, are not expected to trouble the Springboks during the next fortnight. Springboks coach Jake White plans to announce his team tomorrow, and it should be an infinitely stronger line-up than the one Ashton is able to parade.

England have not won away since February last year, losing six successive Tests on the road against Scotland, France, Australia (twice), Ireland and Wales, and it is highly unlikely that sequence will be ended either in Bloemfontein or Pretoria on Saturday week.

Wilkinson missed training today in Johannesburg but England have no fears about his fitness for Saturday's Test.

The Newcastle fly-half is suffering from a stomach upset which has already affected a couple of the England management, but it is expected to only affect him for 24 hours.

England team to play South Africa in the first Test in Bloemfontein on Saturday: M Brown (Harlequins); D Strettle (Harlequins), M Tait (Newcastle), A Farrell (Saracens), J Robinson (Sale Sharks, capt); J Wlkinson (Newcastle), P Richards (Gloucester); N Wood (Gloucester), M Regan (Bristol) S Turner (Sale), D Schofield (Sale), A Brown (Gloucester), C Jones (Sale), A Hazell (Gloucester), N Easter (Harlequins). Replacements: M Cairns (Saracens), D Crompton (Bristol), R Winters (Bristol), P Sanderson (Worcester), A Gomarsall (Harlequins), T Flood (Newcastle), I Balshaw (Gloucester).