England manager Clive Woodward summed up his philosophy for a successful team in three simple words, then named a side which excels in them all.

"Pace, ability, defence,"are Woodward's key watchwords and Canada will need plenty - plus a large dollop of determination - if their largely part-time players are to stand any chance of holding England in the first Test at Fletchers Fields in Markham on Saturday.

Even without 18 Lions absentees, plus the loss of hooker Mark Regan with concussion and lock Simon Shaw with an ankle problem, the tourists still look a formidable outfit. If their talent on paper translates onto the 8,000 capacity arena, there is little doubt that the carefully-constructed eight-match winning run will be extended still further.

Woodward confirmed that Shaw would have been a certain starter but for fears that a full training stint this week may cause a recurrence of the injury which flared against the Barbarians last weekend. Instead, the Wasps lock sees his place going to Ben Kay, one of five new caps and a six-man Leicester contingent.

Five treble-winning Tigers are named in the pack, new-boy Lewis Moody linking with vice-captain Martin Corry in the back-row, while Graham Rowntree and Dorian West combine with Julian White at the front of the scrum.

None of the quintet started against the Baa-Baas, a deliberate ploy by Woodward to rest his key men in readiness for what he believes will be a stern examination of his depleted ranks. "It has been a long season and they had a big game the week before, so I decided to bench them," said Woodward. "Martin Corry was always going to play, as was Graham Rowntree. "I see him as the form loose-head prop at the moment and it is great to see him return."

The Leicester pack are not known to yield under pressure and Woodward will be hoping their club form translates easily onto the international arena. Although they boast another Welford Road star Winston Stanley and influential
Stade Francais scrum-half Morgan Williams in their line-up, Canada's main strength is in their pack.

Whether they can maintain a physical threat and still keep their discipline is open to question. The North Americans had three men sin-binned and Ryan Brooks dismissed in the 20-6 defeat to Argentina last weekend. But although a repeat of those problems will only aid Woodward's side, the England chief appealed for sanity. "I saw a video of last week's game and it was certainly a bruising encounter," he said. "There will be a capacity crowd cheering Canada on and they will be wanting everything to go their way. "We are looking forward to meeting the challenge and hopefully it will be a tough, clean game."

The main surprise in Woodward's line-up is the selection of Jamie Noon - one of three Newcastle debutants - at inside centre. Tim Stimpson is the man to make way, with Josh Lewsey moving to his Wasps club position of full-back. Stimpson might have kept his place if Lewsey had not been forced off with rib trouble, leaving Woodward unprepared to take a calculated risk. "I wanted to go into the Test with everyone in positions they are used to. I still think Josh can play centre but because of the knock he took on Sunday, I didn't have long enough to see him at that level and don't want to expose him until I have seen him a bit more."

Despite only playing his club rugby at stand-off in the absence of Newcastle team-mate Jonny Wilkinson, Dave Walder not only takes on that role on his debut, but also that of front-line goalkicker. At least he will have Noon and Michael Stephenson alongside him as nervous new-boys, although Woodward feels he is well up to the task.

"You don't know players until you coach them,"said the England chief. Dave is very good on the ball and a very composed young man. The further he went on Sunday, the better he got. He is there on merit and
the big bonus is his goalkicking."
With Leon Lloyd and Paul Sampson completing the three-quarters, England have pace to burn. "This is a very fast, exciting team,"said Woodward. "We have moved on a lot in the past 18 months and most of the backs are capable of switching positions if the need arises."

England Team:
J Lewsey (Wasps); P Sampson (Wasps), L Lloyd (Leicester), J Noon (Newcastle), M Stephenson (Newcastle); D Walder (Newcastle), K Bracken (Saracens, capt); G Rowntree (Leicester), D West (Leicester), J White (Saracens), S Borthwick (Bath), B Kay (Leicester), M Corry (Leicester), L Moody (Leicester), J Worsley (Wasps).

Replacements: A Long (Bath), D Flatman (Saracens), S Shaw (Wasps), P Sanderson (Harlequins), M Wood (Wasps), A King (Wasps), T Stimpson (Leicester).