Newcastle's Phil Dowson will lead England Saxons against Portugal at Edgeley Park © Getty Images

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Players/Officials: Phil Dowson

Teams: England | Newcastle Falcons

Newcastle Falcons No.8 Phil Dowson has been handed the captaincy of the England Saxons for Friday's match with Portugal at Edgeley Park.

Saxons boss Stuart Lancaster highlighted Dowson's good form and the amount of respect that he has been able to generate among the Saxons squad as the reasons behind his decision. "Phil has been in outstanding form this season," he said. "He has the respect of his peers, both at Newcastle and within the Saxons camp. He leads by example and is intelligent enough to make the right calls and pull the team together."

The Saxons squad to face the Portuguese will be announced on Wednesday, and Dowson is thrilled to have been asked to shoulder the captaincy. "I'm very proud to be taking it on," he said. "For all the squad it's an opportunity to step outside our club environments and play a game where the biggest pressure on us is the pressure we put on ourselves.

"We have a very talented group of players," he said. "We want to play fast, running rugby. We have so much speed and talent out wide, plus the exuberance of youth."

Dowson also maintained that the squad was in good spirits ahead of the game despite having just come off the back of another gruelling set of European fixtures. "Creating a team often takes time but we've already got a great environment," he said. "We enjoy each other's company and that's important in creating a strong and cohesive game plan in a short space of time.

"It's a great chance to meet and learn from other players and coaches. Everyone's out to impress but we all know that the best way to show what we've got is to pull together as a team and keep it simple but effective.

"Portugal are not to be taken lightly, they have a lot of experience in their squad and plenty of motivation with their World Cup qualifiers coming up. The importance of the game is not lost on the younger players coming through but we have to focus on ourselves and getting our game right. That's exactly what we're going to do."

Leicester's Ben Woods has been withdrawn from the squad due to an injury sustained against the Ospreys in the Heineken Cup on Saturday, with a replacement set to be announced in due course.