Eddie Jones has named his England squad to face the Barbarians in the Old Mutual Wealth Cup on Sunday at Twickenham Stadium (kick off 3pm, live on Sky Sports HD).
England include Chris Robshaw (Harlequins), Danny Care (Harlequins), George Ford (Bath Rugby), Jonny May (Gloucester Rugby) and Mike Brown (Harlequins) – who have 246 caps between them.
There are eight uncapped players in the starting XV including Jack Singleton (Worcester Warriors), Will Collier (Harlequins), Nick Isiekwe (Saracens), Sam Underhill (Bath Rugby), Alex Lozowski (Saracens), Sam James (Sale Sharks), and Nathan Earle (Saracens).
“I’m excited about this squad playing the Barbarians on Sunday,” said head coach Jones.
READ MORE:
-
Eddie Jones gives his view on relegation and promotion in the Six Nations
-
Scott Quinnell’s Lions XV has SEVEN Welshman included
-
WATCH: Andy Goode stars in HILARIOUS Lions advert
-
There’s A NEW rugby game coming to console!
“The players have trained really well with intensity over the last few weeks and now we need to put that onto the field this weekend.
“While we have some really experienced players starting the game there is a great opportunity for some of the younger players to show what they are about against a Barbarians team full of quality international players.
“We will be treating this game as a Test match and expecting the Barbarians to start the game quickly. This match will be crucial preparation ahead of our two-Test series against Argentina next month.”
Robshaw and Ford co-captain the non-Test side on Sunday and Jones explained why he has shared the responsibility of leading the side.
“I’ve decided to have co-captains this weekend with Chris Robshaw and George Ford,” said Jones.
“We need the responsibility of leadership shared. Chris will look after the forwards and defence while George will look after the backs and attack. It splits the responsibility nicely and with so many younger players there we need co-captains rather than just one guy responsible for everything.”
Rob Buchanan (Harlequins), Ryan Mills (Worcester Warriors), Nick Schonert (Worcester Warriors) and Marland Yarde (Harlequins) were not considered for selection due to injury. Both Buchanan and Mills have been released from camp.