Dawson out of opener

There is something about a Six Nations match with France that makes life seriously difficult for English scrum-halves.

Last year, Kyran Bracken's confidence was horribly dented during the course of a rough afternoon in Paris. Yesterday, Bracken's great rival and current superior, Northampton's Matthew Dawson, failed a fitness test on his dodgy right calf and was withdrawn from the side for tomorrow's match at Twickenham.

Andy Gomarsall, of Gloucester, will take Dawson's place – Bracken is down the pecking order these days, and suffering from concussion to boot – and finds himself charged with subduing the force of Gallic nature known as Fabien Galthié, the Tricolore captain and by some distance the single most influential player in the reigning champions' line-up. Sale's Nick Walshe steps up from the A team to fill the gap on the senior bench, with Martyn Wood of Wasps promoted to the starting berth for tonight's second-string game between the two countries at Northampton.

Dawson's injury is a blow for England, who increasingly depend on his big-match temperament and aggressive gamesmanship. The French, meanwhile, were in the rudest of good health when they arrived in London yesterday.