By Mitch Phillips
LONDON (Reuters) – England coach Eddie Jones has included 10 uncapped players, including in-form London Irish duo Henry Arundell and Will Joseph, in a 36-man training squad to prepare for the summer tour of Australia.
Joe Cokanasiga, Owen Farrell, Manu Tuilagi, Anthony Watson and Jack Willis return following injury, while prop Mako Vunipola is also recalled.
Jones has also rested some players, including scrumhalf Ben Youngs and hooker Jamie George, though said they would all be in contention for the tour.
“We’re going to use this camp as an opportunity to prepare for the (non-cap) Barbarians fixture and for a really important Australia tour,” Jones said on Tuesday. “It is also 16 months to the World Cup and every minute counts. We want a hard-working and enjoyable environment for the players and to make sure we are all on the same page. “We want to take a look at some younger players and prepare a base camp for the Barbarians game, particularly as we will be without the Premiership finalists, and also give some senior players a rest as we get to a crucial part of the season.”
England face Australia in Perth on July 2, Brisbane on July 9 and Sydney on July 16.
Australian media reports on Tuesday suggested that Japan-based trio Quade Cooper, Samu Kerevi and Marika Koroibete will be available for the summer series, which would be a huge boost for the Wallabies as they seek to end an eight-match losing streak against England that began with a 3-0 home series sweep of defeats in 2016.
England training squad
Forwards
Alfie Barbeary (Wasps, uncapped)Jamie Blamire (Newcastle Falcons, 6 caps)Ollie Chessum (Leicester Tigers, 2 caps)Tom Curry (Sale Sharks, 40 caps)Nic Dolly (Leicester Tigers, 1 cap)Alex Dombrandt (Harlequins, 9 caps)Charlie Ewels (Bath Rugby, 30 caps)Ellis Genge (Leicester Tigers, 36 caps)Joe Heyes (Leicester Tigers, 2 caps)Maro Itoje (Saracens, 56 caps)Joe Launchbury (Wasps, 70 caps)Courtney Lawes (Northampton Saints, 93 caps)Lewis Ludlam (Northampton Saints, 11 caps)George McGuigan (Newcastle Falcons, uncapped)Tom Pearson (London Irish, uncapped)Bevan Rodd (Sale Sharks, 2 caps)Will Stuart (Bath Rugby, 20 caps)Sam Underhill (Bath Rugby, 28 caps)Mako Vunipola (Saracens, 67 caps)Jack Willis (Wasps, 3 caps)
BacksHenry Arundell (London Irish, uncapped)Orlando Bailey (Bath Rugby, uncapped)Joe Cokanasiga (Bath Rugby, 11 caps)Fraser Dingwall (Northampton Saints, uncapped)Owen Farrell (Saracens, 94 caps)Tommy Freeman (Northampton Saints, uncapped)George Furbank (Northampton Saints, 6 caps)Will Joseph (London Irish, uncapped)Louis Lynagh (Harlequins, uncapped)Alex Mitchell (Northampton Saints, 1 cap)Harry Randall (Bristol Bears, 6 caps)Marcus Smith (Harlequins, 10 caps)Freddie Steward (Leicester Tigers, 10 caps)Manu Tuilagi (Sale Sharks, 46 caps)Jack van Poortvliet (Leicester Tigers, uncapped)Anthony Watson (Bath Rugby, 51 caps)
(Reporting by Mitch Phillips, editing by Martyn Herman)
