Sir Clive Woodward has admitted he could not gamble on handing Alex King a Six Nations chance.
The England chief has left Brighton-born King out of the team to go Italy on Sunday.
Instead, Paul Grayson will start at No. 10 with Bath youngster Ollie Barkley on the bench.
All 15 starters were members of the victorious World Cup squad.
Woodward said: "Paul is the best player and I'm very mindful we've had no training time at all since the World Cup, so to throw in Ollie Barkley or Alex King with hardly any preparation would be a big call, especially playing away from home."
King's chances appeared to have soared on Saturday when he was the only one of Woodward's four contenders to start at outside half for his club.
He gave the long pass which led to Wasps' only try at leaders Bath but has been hindered by a thigh problem for the past two matches.
Grayson, who was on the bench for Northampton, has 27 caps and offers greater experience than King or Barkley.
King now faces the prospect of a Premiership trip to rock bottom Rotherham with Wasps on Saturday.
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