Martin Johnson has backed Mathew Tait to live up to his potential in an England shirt after naming him in the starting line-up for Saturday's opening Six Nations match against Wales at Twickenham.
Tait, selected at outside centre, was one of six changes, four behind the scrum, made by the England coach as he looks for a winning start to the campaign.
Saturday's match will see Tait, who will be celebrating his 24th birthday, make only his second England start since the 2007 World Cup final defeat by South Africa.
Of his 32 caps, only 15 have come as a starter, but Johnson is confident that Tait has what it takes to make an impact.
"There's always been a lot of speculation about Matt in my time in charge," he said. "Matt has got a very strong all-round game in attack and with his kicking ability. His defence is underrated. This is a good opportunity for Matt to get in there and play. He's been through a heck of a lot. He's only coming up to 24, he's a bright, mature guy.
"The temptation with young players is they think they have to do something special because it's Test rugby, but he'll play the situation on its merits."
Other England changes see Riki Flutey return in midfield after recovering from a shoulder injury, Delon Armitage starts at full-back, Danny Care comes in at scrum-half, with David Wilson coming into the front row and Nick Easter called up at No 8.
Wales will name their side once they know the outcome of full-back Lee Byrne's appeal against a two-week ban for briefly appearing as an illegal 16th man during the Ospreys' Heineken Cup win over Leicester 10 days ago.
Meanwhile, Chris Paterson will play his 99th match for Scotland on Sunday after being recalled to the side for their Six Nations opener against France.
Glasgow centres Max Evans and Graeme Morrison, Gloucester prop Alasdair Dickinson and Glasgow flankers Kelly Brown and John Barclay are also in Andy Robinson's side. Uncapped Glasgow lock Richie Gray is on the bench.
"There has been improved competition for places since the autumn Tests and selection has been based both on achievements within the autumn matches and on current form," Robinson said.
"We are excited about the start of the Championship but we know that we have not won our first game in the competition since 2006, so all our focus is on making a winning start against France on Sunday."
* With agencies
Moon Music
Artist: Coldplay
Label: Parlophone/Atlantic
Number of tracks: 10
Rating: 3/5
SM Town Live is on Friday, April 6 at Autism Rocks Arena, Dubai. Tickets are Dh375 at www.platinumlist.net
The specs: 2018 Nissan Altima
Price, base / as tested: Dh78,000 / Dh97,650
Engine: 2.5-litre in-line four-cylinder
Power: 182hp @ 6,000rpm
Torque: 244Nm @ 4,000rpm
Transmission: Continuously variable tranmission
Fuel consumption, combined: 7.6L / 100km
Semi-final fixtures
Portugal v Chile, 7pm, today
Germany v Mexico, 7pm, tomorrow
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COMPANY%20PROFILE
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A MINECRAFT MOVIE
Director: Jared Hess
Starring: Jack Black, Jennifer Coolidge, Jason Momoa
Rating: 3/5
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Ms Yang's top tips for parents new to the UAE
- Join parent networks
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Specs
Engine: Duel electric motors
Power: 659hp
Torque: 1075Nm
On sale: Available for pre-order now
Price: On request
The smuggler
Eldarir had arrived at JFK in January 2020 with three suitcases, containing goods he valued at $300, when he was directed to a search area.
Officers found 41 gold artefacts among the bags, including amulets from a funerary set which prepared the deceased for the afterlife.
Also found was a cartouche of a Ptolemaic king on a relief that was originally part of a royal building or temple.
The largest single group of items found in Eldarir’s cases were 400 shabtis, or figurines.
Khouli conviction
Khouli smuggled items into the US by making false declarations to customs about the country of origin and value of the items.
According to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, he provided “false provenances which stated that [two] Egyptian antiquities were part of a collection assembled by Khouli's father in Israel in the 1960s” when in fact “Khouli acquired the Egyptian antiquities from other dealers”.
He was sentenced to one year of probation, six months of home confinement and 200 hours of community service in 2012 after admitting buying and smuggling Egyptian antiquities, including coffins, funerary boats and limestone figures.
For sale
A number of other items said to come from the collection of Ezeldeen Taha Eldarir are currently or recently for sale.
Their provenance is described in near identical terms as the British Museum shabti: bought from Salahaddin Sirmali, "authenticated and appraised" by Hossen Rashed, then imported to the US in 1948.
- An Egyptian Mummy mask dating from 700BC-30BC, is on offer for £11,807 ($15,275) online by a seller in Mexico
- A coffin lid dating back to 664BC-332BC was offered for sale by a Colorado-based art dealer, with a starting price of $65,000
- A shabti that was on sale through a Chicago-based coin dealer, dating from 1567BC-1085BC, is up for $1,950
MANDOOB
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Skewed figures
In the village of Mevagissey in southwest England the housing stock has doubled in the last century while the number of residents is half the historic high. The village's Neighbourhood Development Plan states that 26% of homes are holiday retreats. Prices are high, averaging around £300,000, £50,000 more than the Cornish average of £250,000. The local average wage is £15,458.
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
