Tait set to get lucky and land red rose No 13 shirt

Inside centre Riki Flutey has made a welcome return from injury (GETTY IMAGES)

The England team for this week's opening Six Nations match with Wales at Twickenham almost picks itself: partly because of the welcome returns from injury of the full-back Delon Armitage and the inside centre Riki Flutey; partly because in certain key areas, not least on the loose-head side of the scrum, the chronic lack of strength in depth means there is barely a choice to be made. There has, however, been a good deal of debate about the No 13 position, where the used and abused Mathew Tait must be within a gnat's crotchet of a recall.

Martin Johnson, the manager, has three or four possibilities at outside centre. He could stick with the strong-running Leicester midfielder Dan Hipkiss, who played in all three internationals last November, or fast-track Shontayne Hape, the newcomer from New Zealand, into the starting line-up. If he is feeling really adventurous, he might give Armitage a run at No 13 and ask the twinkle-toed Ben Foden of Northampton to perform the full-back's role.

In days gone by, Tait would have seen three rivals for a starting place as three too many. The Sale centre has been the most dangerous broken-field runner available to England for years – witness his splintering of the South African defence on World Cup final night in 2007 – but for all his attacking gifts, he has rarely forced himself into serious consideration as a first-choice option. Times have changed, suddenly. Hipkiss is reliable enough but has little of the x-factor about him; Hape is seen as a possible challenger to Flutey rather than a contender to partner him; Armitage is playing his club rugby at 15, not 13.

If Tait is given his head this weekend, he will find himself mixing it with the opponents who made life difficult for him on debut five years ago. In truth, he was the least of England's problems at the Millennium Stadium that day and Andy Robinson, then the coach, later admitted to a misreading and mishandling of the youngster's situation. Half a decade on, there is at least a chance of a rebirth.

With James Haskell, the Paris-based flanker, thought to be fit for selection and Lewis Moody in the form of his life, England will fancy themselves in the back-row department, despite the latest injury hassles affecting Tom Croft, one of the star turns for the British and Irish Lions in South Africa last summer. But the tight- forward unit is a concern – yesterday the former England captain Phil Vickery described the Welsh front row as "the best in the tournament and probably the world" – while neither of the scrum-halves in the frame, Paul Hodgson and Danny Care, offers answers to all the questions.

At least Johnson has something approaching a fit squad on which to draw. Scotland, who face France at Murrayfield on Sunday, have lost both the full-back Rory Lamont and the flanker Alasdair Strokosch to injury. Lamont hurt an ankle while playing Top 14 rugby with Toulon a week ago, while Strokosch is troubled by a similar complaint. With the Scots' most formidable set-piece weapon, the tight-head prop Euan Murray unavailable on grounds of conscience – he refuses to play on the Sabbath – they will not be as strong as they had hoped.

France will travel without that wild-haired sans culotte of the pack, Sébastien Chabal. The Racing Metro lock has joined another second-rower, Romain Millo-Chlusky of Toulouse, on the casualty list, so Les Bleus have called another Toulouse forward, Yoann Maestri, into the squad.