Stuart Lancaster heralds 'new era for England' ahead of Six Nations

Owen Farrell of Saracens has been called up to the England senior squad. Photograph: David Rogers/Getty Images

Stuart Lancaster has promised "a new era" in English rugby after naming nine uncapped players in his elite squad for the Six Nations Championship, which starts next month. Thirteen members of the World Cup squad are no longer involved and 27 of the 32 players named by the interim head coach are under 30.

There is no place for Mike Tindall, Nick Easter or Mark Cueto and Matt Banahan and Delon Armitage have been dropped to the second-string Saxons. England have opted for youth, including the 20-year-old Saracens back Owen Farrell and the 22-year-old Scarlets No8 Ben Morgan. Northampton supply a record eight elite squad members, including the back-row forwards Calum Clark and Phil Dowson and the scrum-half Lee Dickson.

Lancaster was determined to consign the failed World Cup campaign to history. He denied, however, that Tindall, Easter and Cueto had played their last matches for England. "We think it is a tremendous opportunity to build a squad which has potential for now and for the future," he said. "It is about a new era for English rugby. I always felt January 2012 was going to be a defining moment. Hopefully we have picked a squad that is talented, excited and committed to getting back to where we want to be, at the top of the game."

Lancaster, who is 7-2 with William Hill to be installed as permanent coach, is intent on changing the culture of the squad. The pre-Six Nations training camp is being held in Yorkshire rather than Portugal and only Dowson, Tom Palmer, Charlie Hodgson, Lee Mears and the injured Louis Deacon are seasoned campaigners. With Toby Flood, Courtney Lawes and Manu Tuilagi struggling to be fit to face Scotland on 4 February, Dave Attwood, Alex Goode, Geoff Parling and Henry Trinder will come up from the Saxons squad to act as temporary cover with the elite. There are also fears that Tom Wood, a leading contender for the captaincy, has a foot problem which may sideline him for the next fortnight.

Lancaster said: "Am I worried about Owen Farrell playing international rugby? No I'm not. Will he be dropped if he plays poorly and be kicked out of the squad? Absolutely no way."

For Tindall, the last member of England's 2003 World Cup winning side still available, the message could hardly be starker. Lancaster based his selection on form and said off-field events in New Zealand had had no direct bearing.

"I don't think it's my decision to retire players from international rugby," he said. "My decision is to select a team. I had a good chat with Mike. We spent an hour and a half talking through all sorts of things. It's actually about Brad Barritt, Jordan Turner-Hall and Henry Trinder."

Lancaster also challenged Armitage to fight for a recall. The London Irish full-back is considering a move to Toulon. "How you respond to being dropped is the mark of your character," said Lancaster. "Clearly we want all our best players to be in England but ultimately it's his choice."

Regarding the fly-half Danny Cipriani, who is playing Super 15 rugby for the Melbourne Rebels, Lancaster said: "I'll watch his development and see how he goes."