Martin Johnson has recalled Mike Tindall for Saturday's Six Nations Championship opener – and has praised the Gloucester captain's response to being left out of the initial 32-man England squad.

Tindall was a surprise omission from the Elite Player Squad announced in July – but his impressive club form this season made it impossible for England manager Johnson to leave him out of this weekend's Twickenham clash with Italy.

Tindall returns in place of Newcastle's Jamie Noon at outside centre – and has also seen off the challenge of Leicester's Danny Hipkiss – to partner Riki Flutey in midfield against the Azzurri.

England were well beaten in their three autumn Tests against South Africa, Australia and New Zealand, while Tindall has played a key role in helping Gloucester to the top of the Guinness Premiership table.

And Johnson admitted he had been impressed by his former international team-mate's response to initially being left out of the squad.

"His form has been good. We made our call and went with Danny and Jamie at the start of the season – but Mike has responded in the right way," said Johnson.

"I spoke to him at the time and he was disappointed not to get in. It was a close call and his form has been very good at Gloucester. Added to his experience, it's good to get him in."

Tindall, who has 56 caps, is one of several experienced players recalled to the England ranks for this weekend's game, with 24-cap Mark Cueto also in the starting line-up and 67-cap Joe Worsley named on the bench.

And Johnson says the trio – all of whom have appeared in a Rugby World Cup final – bring more to the party than merely their big-match experience.

"The guys are in because they're playing well, not just for the experience," said Johnson.

"It's a plus that they've got that and you can feel it within the group. It's not just all about what they say.

"Obviously, it's the benefit on the field that we all want to see. We'll be in tricky situations on Saturday and in every game we play.

"It's how we react to those and how we come through them that's the important thing. They give us some stability and a little bit of leadership as well."

Tindall has appeared in 19 of Gloucester's 22 matches this season but has missed their last three after suffering a dead leg at Newcastle on January 11.

His absence was sharply felt as his side were beaten 16-12 by Cardiff Blues in their key Heineken Cup pool match at Kingsholm and then lost in Biarritz as their hopes of reaching the quarter-finals died.

Despite not playing for almost a month, the 30-year-old proved his fitness during England's training camp in Portugal last week and is confident he is ready to start against Italy.

There was no place in the England matchday 22 for either Gloucester full-back Olly Morgan or number eight Luke Narraway, with Delon Armitage and Nick Easter – two of the better performers during the disastrous autumn series – getting the nod.

Gloucester backs Charlie Sharples and Henry Trinder have been named in the England team for Friday's Under-20 Six Nations opener against Italy at Worcester's Sixways ground.

Bristol centre Luke Eves also starts for England, while there are places on the bench for Bath flanker Josh Ovens and Gloucester pair Shaun Knight and Dan Williams.

England are the defending champions, having swept to a Grand Slam in last season's championship.

England: D Armitage (London Irish); P Sackey (Wasps), M Tindall (Gloucester), R Flutey (Wasps), M Cueto (Sale); A Goode (Brive), D Care (Harlequins); A Sheridan (Sale), L Mears (Bath), P Vickery (Wasps), S Borthwick (Saracens, capt) N Kennedy (London Irish), J Haskell (Wasps), S Armitage (London Irish), N Easter (Harlequins). Reps: D Hartley (Northampton), J White (Leicester), T Croft (Leicester), J Worsley (Wasps), B Foden (Northampton), S Geraghty (London Irish), M Tait (Sale).

England Under-20 team to play Italy at Worcester on Friday: C Sharples (Gloucester); S Stegmann (Harlequins), H Trinder (Gloucester), L Eves (Bristol), W Hurrell (Leicester); R Clegg (Newcastle), B Youngs (Leicester); B Moon (Exeter), J George (Saracens), B Baker (Wasps), J Gaskell (Sale), G Kitchener (Worcester), C Lawes (Northampton), C Clark (Leeds, captain), C York (Harlequins). Reps: J Clark (London Irish), S Knight (Gloucester), D Williams (Gloucester), J Ovens (Bath), D White (Leeds), R Miller (Newcastle), G Tonks (Leicester).