Rugby: Lewis Moody under microscope at Twickenham

Moody, 33, returns to lead England in their Investec international against Wales after missing the RBS 6 Nations title-winning campaign with a knee ligament injury.

After the tournament, Johnson confirmed Moody was the man he wanted to lead England into the World Cup, fitness permitting, but there was a clear change in tone on the eve of the Test.

Tom Wood and James Haskell excelled in Moody's absence during the Six Nations, adding to England's stiff back-row competition, while Mike Tindall led the team to four victories.

Prior to England's first World Cup warm-up international, Johnson warned Moody that nothing is set in stone. "I've always said guys have got to get their place in the team," Johnson said. "If any player isn't playing as well as another guy then is that other guy going to play? Well, yes. When we name the squad we will name our captain. Everyone is judged on merit and one of Lewis' merits is his leadership.

"You need that quality in the team and I think we missed him and Mike in the final Six Nations game in Dublin. Lewis, being who he is and what he has done, brings a huge amount of intangibles to the team but also adds to the collective."

It would be a major surprise if Johnson did not name Moody as his World Cup captain when the final 30-man squad is announced on 22 August after back-to-back games against Wales. Moody's leadership credentials were endorsed earlier this week by Tindall, who revealed the Bath flanker "is viewed in my eyes and everyone's as the skipper".

England's back-row competition is arguably stronger now than at any time since the World Cup-winning year in 2003 with Haskell, Wood, Chris Robshaw, Hendre Fourie and Nick Easter all competing for places.

Moody understands the lie of the land. Having played just three and a half games for Bath since being injured the veteran international is itching for a taste of the action again. "I am excited about this. Everyone is fired up and so they should be," said Moody. "Every game leading into the World Cup is a trial for the squad and the individuals. I have always felt I have to prove myself, no matter what stage I am at in my career. There is always competition and that is what makes for a good squad.You have to make sure you are playing as well as you can do - and if you are captain that is an honour on top of that."

Moody will captain a changed but strong England team that features Riki Flutey, Delon Armitage and Jonny Wilkinson in the starting line-up for the first time since the 2010 Six Nations.

Matt Stevens has been absent from the squad for nearly three years after being banned for cocaine use while the powerhouse Leicester centre Manu Tuilagi will make his debut. "Everyone is ready to play. I have had to calm everyone - and myself - down this morning," said Johnson, whose squad have been in camp for six of the last seven weeks. "We are ready to go and we are excited about it."Whatever you do in training it is nothing like playing in a game because the adrenaline makes the tempo incredibly high. This game is not a send-off, it is a Test match and World Cup positions are at stake. The players need to produce good individual performances and work together as a team.

England will debut their new all-black kit at Twickenham today. They will wear it again against Argentina in the first match of the World Cup.

Sam Warburton will captain Wales - eight years after cheering Johnson's men to World Cup glory. Warburton, whose London-born father Jeremy lived in Birmingham before moving to Cardiff as a boy, does not view the English as public enemy No?1.

"I have a number of relatives in the north, and my grandmother speaks with a Yorkshire accent," said the Cardiff Blues flanker. "I never thought about making myself available for England, but I did support them in the 2003 World Cup in Australia. I am not like a lot of other Welshmen who have an anti-English attitude, even if my thoughts this week are about beating them on Saturday."

Warburton was at high school playing football in the same team as current Tottenham and Wales star Gareth Bale when England conquered the rugby world. But he is rapidly making a name for himself with an oval ball, having already won 15 caps and now ready to skipper Wales instead of an injured Matthew Rees, a task he filled effortlessly against the Barbarians in June.

Warburton is just 22, but even though Wales possess such star names as Shane Williams, Jamie Roberts, James Hook and Mike Phillips, current form suggests he could easily be the first name written on coach Warren Gatland's team-sheet. Wales' last two World Cup preparation fixtures against England in 2003 and 2007 saw them concede a total of 105 points and score just 14.There is no pre-match repeat of four years ago, though, when Gatland's predecessor Gareth Jenkins selected a horribly-weakened team for Twickenham.

Today's line-up features only two survivors from that dismal day - Ospreys forwards Huw Bennett and Alun-Wyn Jones - and it contains five British and Irish Lions Test players in Jones, Shane Williams, Jamie Roberts, Stephen Jones and Mike Phillips.

England

15 Armitage

14 Banahan

13 Tuilagi

12 Flutey

11 Caeto

10 Wilkinson

9 Care

1 Corbisiero

2 Hartley

3 Stevens

4 Shaw

5 Palmer

6 Croft

8 Haskell

7 Moody (capt)

Subs

16 Mears

17 Wilson

18 Botha

19 Wood

20 Wigglesworth

21 Hodgson

22 Sharples

Wales

15 Priestland

14 North

13 J Davies

12 J Roberts

11 Shane Williams

10 S Jones

9 M Phillips

1 P James

2 Bennett

3 Mitchell

4 B Davies

5 Wyn Jones

6 Lydiate

8 Faletau

7 Warburton (capt)

Subs

16 Burns

17 Bevington

18 Charteris

19 R Jones

20 Knoyle

21 Scott Williams

22 Stoddard