Wood's selection means that he could potentially be lining up against Gloucester team mate Greg Somerville who starts at tight head for the Barbarians.
Lewis Moody is back in the England side after a 15 month absence and six players will make their first starts.
World Cup winner Moody, a Guinness Premiership winner and Heineken Cup finalist with Leicester Tigers this season, hasn't featured for England since the opening game of the 2008 RBS 6 Nations against Wales.
The 30-year-old lines up in the back-row with Nick Easter and uncapped Harlequins flanker Chris Robshaw, the Guinness Premiership's Player of the Season.
The five other players making their first start are Dylan Hartley and Ben Foden, who were European Challenge Cup winners with Northampton Saints last week, and Harlequins centre Jordan Turner-Hall, Bath Rugby wing Matt Banahan and Newcastle Falcons prop David Wilson.
England team manager Martin Johnson also calls on captain Steve Borthwick (Saracens) and Delon Armitage (London Irish), who played throughout the 2009 RBS 6 Nations campaign, while hooker Steve Thompson and flanker James Haskell are among the replacements.
The game will be England's final appearance of the 2008/09 season at Twickenham before they prepare for their two Test series against Argentina at Old Trafford on June 6 and Salta, Argentina, on June 13.
England:
Delon Armitage (London Irish); Ben Foden (Northampton Saints), Jamie Noon (Newcastle Falcons), Jordan Turner-Hall (Harlequins)*, Matt Banahan (Bath Rugby)*; Andy Goode (CA Brive), Danny Care (Harlequins); Tim Payne (London Wasps), Dylan Hartley (Northampton Saints), David Wilson (Newcastle Falcons)*; Steve Borthwick (Saracens, captain), Louis Deacon (Leicester Tigers); Chris Robshaw (Harlequins)*, Lewis Moody (Leicester Tigers)
8 Nick Easter (Harlequins)
Replacements:
Steve Thompson (CA Brive), Nick Wood (Gloucester Rugby)*, Chris Jones (Sale Sharks), Steffon Armitage (London Irish), James Haskell (London Wasps), Paul Hodgson (London Irish), Tom May (Newcastle Falcons)*
* Uncapped players (note that this is not a Test match and caps are not awarded for this game).
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