Eddie Jones has named a 36-player England men’s squad that will meet on Sunday for a three-day training camp.
The squad will train in London as they begin preparations for next month’s home game against Barbarians and ahead of their tour to Australia in July.
Joe Cokanasiga, Owen Farrell, Manu Tuilagi, Anthony Watson and Jack Willis return to the squad following injury. Elsewhere there are first-time involvements for London Irish duo Henry Arundell and Will Joseph, along with Leicester Tigers’ Jack van Poortvliet. There are 10 uncapped players and seven with more than 50 caps, including a return for Mako Vunipola.
As the Gallagher Premiership season reaches its climax, Jones has chosen to rest some players for the training camp.
“We’re going to use this camp as an opportunity to prepare a base game for the Barbarians fixture and for a really important Australia tour,” he said. “We’ll focus on how we want to play, how we want to be as a team off the field and continue to develop the squad cohesiveness and behaviours.
“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 make sure we are all on the same page. We are allowed a squad of 36 players, so it has been a balancing act.
“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. These players will still be in contention for the Australia tour.”
ENGLAND TRAINING SQUAD:
Forwards
Alfie Barbeary (Wasps, uncapped)
Jamie Blamire
Ollie Chessum
Tom Curry
Nic Dolly (Leicester Tigers, 1 cap)
Alex Dombrandt
Charlie Ewels
Ellis Genge
Joe Heyes
Maro Itoje
Joe Launchbury
Courtney Lawes
Lewis Ludlam
George McGuigan (Newcastle Falcons, uncapped)
Tom Pearson (London Irish, uncapped)
Bevan Rodd
Will Stuart
Sam Underhill
Mako Vunipola
Jack Willis
Backs
Henry Arundell (London Irish, uncapped)
Orlando Bailey (Bath Rugby, uncapped)
Joe Cokanasiga
Fraser Dingwall (Northampton Saints, uncapped)
Owen Farrell
Tommy Freeman (Northampton Saints, uncapped)
George Furbank
Will Joseph (London Irish, uncapped)
Louis Lynagh (Harlequins, uncapped)
Alex Mitchell (Northampton Saints, 1 cap)
Harry Randall
Marcus Smith
Freddie Steward
Manu Tuilagi
Jack van Poortvliet (Leicester Tigers, uncapped)
Anthony Watson