England team manager Martin Johnson believes Leicester Tigers scrum-half Ben Youngs has a "big future in the game."

The 20-year-old was handed a place on the bench for England's Six Nations trip to Scotland on Saturday.

He will join father, Nick, in earning an England cap if he gets on to the pitch at Murrayfield.

He will head north with the rest of the team on Friday with the glowing praise of Johnson ringing in his already cauliflowered ears.

"Ben is a guy with a lot of potential and a big future in the game," said Johnson at England's Pennyhill Park training base.

"His basic skills have held up well in some big games this season.

"When Leicester let Julian Dupuy go in the summer a few eyebrows were raised locally. But Leicester knew they had a good young player to take that slot.

"We have seen him improve and, very much like Dan Cole, just playing in the big games has helped him.

"He has taken the opportunities he has been given and his basic skills have held up under pressure in big games like Clermont (in the Heineken Cup).

"It has been a pretty fast rise for him and he was a bit surprised to be told he was on the bench."

Less happy with Johnson's team selection was flanker Lewis Moody who was dropped to the bench in favour of Wasps' Joe Worsley.

"I was very disappointed and surprised but that's what coaches have to do," said Moody.

"They make decisions and they make tough decisions. As a player, you get on with it and deal with it."

Amid tongue-in-cheek suggestions from the media that Tigers legend Johnson had dropped Moody as punishment for his decision to join Bath, the England team manager said the decision was a "tough call".

"It is not a reflection of how Lewis is playing because he is playing very well," he said.

"But it shows the strength and depth of the squad that we can bring Joe in.

"We felt that it was the best call this week to bring Lewis off the bench to make an impact."

Toby Flood joins Moody and Youngs on the bench after recovering from a blow to the head suffered during Tigers' win over London Irish last weekend.

Louis Deacon steps in to start in the second row alongside captain Steve Borthwick with Simon Shaw out injured.

Tigers prop Dan Cole retains his place in the starting line-up.

England: D Armitage; Cueto, Tait, Flutey, Monye; Wilkinson, Care; Payne, Hartley, Cole, L Deacon, Borthwick (captain), Haskell, Worsley, Easter. Reps: Thompson, Wilson, Lawes, Moody, Youngs, Flood, Foden.

scotland: Southwell; Lamont, De Luca, Morrison, Evans; Parks, Cusiter (captain); Jacobsen, Ford, Murray, Hamilton, Kellock, Brown, Barclay, Beattie. Reps: S Lawson, Cross, Hines, MacDonald, R Lawson, Godman, Danielli.

Tigers' captain Geordan Murphy retains his place at full-back for Ireland's clash with Wales at Croke Park, Dublin, on Saturday.

Brian O'Driscoll will win his 100th cap. He took a blow to the head in the win over England but has been passed fit.