England manager Martin Johnson has made several changes to his elite squad for this year's Six Nations including a call-up for uncapped Northampton Saints back Ben Foden.

The five selection changes to the squad announced on July 1, 2008 see the introduction of fullback/scrum-half Foden, wing Mark Cueto, No.8 Nick Easter, centre Mike Tindall and wing Ugo Monye.

As a result, fly-half Olly Barkley, No.8 Jordan Crane, scrum-half Peter Richards, centre Dan Hipkiss and wing James Simpson-Daniel drop down to the Saxons squad.

In addition fullback Olly Morgan steps up to the elite squad for wing Tom Varndell who was himself replaced by fullback Nick Abendanon in the autumn. Fullback Delon Armitage's place in the squad is cemented as a replacement for the retired Josh Lewsey and fly-half Danny Cipriani is confirmed in the group due to the continued injury-enforced absence Jonny Wilkinson.

Johnson is still considering possible injury replacements for Wasps forwards Tom Palmer and Tom Rees, who are both in the squad, but currently sidelined from competitive action with a shoulder and knee injury respectively.

The England boss has also confirmed that Steve Borthwick will remain as skipper for the Six Nations.

"We had the players we wanted in the autumn and we have made changes on form," explained Johnson. "We've brought Mark Cueto in who's in great form at Sale, Mike [Tindall] at Gloucester also brings us some experience. Lewis Moody was always in the squad but didn't play in the autumn because of injury and he is in pretty good form so we've kept him in there.

"Ben Foden is someone we have known about for a while. He went to a new club in the summer and we didn't think it was the right time to go into the squad but I think it is the right time now. He is instinctive, a very good player and a fantastic athlete as well so we're excited to have him in."

Foden, who could find himself on the bench for the Championship opener with fellow scrum-half Harry Ellis currently suspended, said, "It's a real honour to have earned selection. I'm enjoying my rugby and just want to be on the field every week in whichever position I'm chosen."

The return of Tindall and Cueto, who last appeared for England in the 2007 Rugby World Cup final, injects some much-needed experienced into the squad but Johnson stressed that was not the key to their recall. "They're in the squad because they are in good form but it obviously helps that they are hugely experienced guys."

Cueto has an impressive international record of 13 tries in 24 Test appearances while the in-form Tindall is in line to add to his tally of 56 caps - the last of which came during last summer's tour to New Zealand.

Foden, 23, has been rewarded for a string of eye-catching performances for the Saints and his versatility is a big plus according to Johnson. "He's got that flexibility which is great," he said. "I think with all these guys who have played two positions, they're valuable to clubs in their versatility and to us in terms of putting a team together and having replacements that can slot it.

"But the main thing with him is his ability, he's a fantastic attacking player and we wanted to get him into the squad at some point and we thought now was the time to do it."

Morgan won two caps during the 2007 Six Nations before a succession of injury woes and returns to the England squad as arguably the form player in this season's Guinness Premiership. Monye and Easter, originally named in the Saxons squad last year, were both drafted into action in November and their performances and recent form have earnt them permanent promotions.

Johnson also took the opportunity to underline his support for skipper Borthwick who came under increasing pressure during the autumn international campaign that included bruising defeats at the hands of Australia, South Africa and New Zealand.

"No one is assured of their place and we'll pick our captain game by game but Steve is our captain going forward," he told reporters. "In very difficult circumstances Steve did an outstanding job with the captaincy, the bulk of which you don't see because it's done off the field.

"It's easy being a captain when you're winning games surrounded by experienced players but he didn't have that," Johnson added.

England kick off their Six Nations campaign against Italy at Twickenham on February 7, and the squad will head to Portugal on January 25 for a week's training as part of their preparations. They will then embark on their Championship challenge determined to reverse their slump in form.

"We learnt some harsh lessons in the autumn, we weren't good enough and we were disappointed we could not perform at a higher level," said Johnson. "We could have done better, that's the coaches, myself and the team.

"It's about making sure we get the best out of this group and perform at the level we know we can do. Our guys want to win games and be successful and there is a huge amount of frustration that we haven't achieved that. We have admitted to our mistakes and where we have gone wrong and it's about minimising those and giving ourselves the best chance to perform."

There is also good news for Foden's Saints half back team mate Stephen Myler, after the 24-year-old rugby league convert was named in the Saxons squad, alongside newcomer Matt Mullan, the Worcester Warriors prop, and powerful Harlequins centre Jordan-Turner Hall. Veteran Leicester prop Julian White has also been handed a recall.

The Saxons will also be in action during the Six Nations with fixtures scheduled against Portugal on January 30 and Ireland A on February 6.

Revised 32-man England senior elite player squad:

Backs: D Armitage (London Irish), D Care (Harlequins), D Cipriani (Wasps), M Cueto (Sale Sharks), H Ellis (Leicester), T Flood (Leicester), B Foden (Northampton)*, R Flutey (Wasps), S Geraghty (London Irish), U Monye (Harlequins), O Morgan (Gloucester), J Noon (Newcastle), P Sackey (Wasps), M Tait (Sale Sharks), M Tindall (Gloucester).

Forwards: S Borthwick (Saracens), G Chuter (Leicester), T Croft (Leicester), N Easter (Harlequins), D Hartley (Northampton), J Haskell (Wasps), N Kennedy (London Irish), L Mears (Bath), L Moody (Leicester), L Narraway (Gloucester), T Palmer (Wasps), T Payne (Wasps), T Rees (Wasps), S Shaw (Wasps), A Sheridan (Sale Sharks), M Stevens (Bath), P Vickery (Wasps).

Revised England Saxons elite player squad:

Backs: Nick Abendanon (Bath Rugby), Matt Banahan (Bath Rugby)*, Olly Barkley (Gloucester Rugby), Mike Brown (Harlequins), Dan Hipkiss (Leicester Tigers), Paul Hodgson (London Irish), Ryan Lamb (Gloucester Rugby)*, Stephen Myler (Northampton Saints)*, Topsy Ojo (London Irish), Peter Richards (London Irish), James Simpson-Daniel (Gloucester Rugby), David Strettle (Harlequins), Jordan Turner-Hall (Harlequins)*, Dominic Waldouck (London Wasps)*, Richard Wigglesworth (Sale Sharks)

Forwards: Steffon Armitage (London Irish)*, Richard Blaze (Leicester Tigers)*, Jordan Crane (Leicester Tigers), Louis Deacon (Leicester Tigers), Tom Guest (Harlequins)*, Ben Kay (Leicester Tigers), Michael Lipman (Bath Rugby), Matthew Mullan (Worcester Warriors)*, David Paice (London Irish), Chris Robshaw (Harlequins)*, George Skivington (London Wasps)*, Joe Ward (London Wasps)*, Rob Webber (London Wasps)*, Julian White (Leicester Tigers), Dave Wilson (Newcastle Falcons)*, Nick Wood (Gloucester Rugby)*, Joe Worsley (London Wasps)

* Denotes uncapped player