The England shadow squad are the group of players who Eddie Jones will turn to in a injury crisis during the 2021 Six Nations.
The England shadow squad will be part of the same testing protocols as the 28-man squad.
Following their opening match, the Calcutta Cup, England will then host Italy on Saturday 13 February (2.15pm KO) before playing Wales away on Saturday 27 February (4.45pm KO).
Jones’ side will return to Twickenham to face France on Saturday 13 March (4.45pm KO) before travelling to Dublin for their final game, against Ireland, on Saturday 20 March (4.45pm KO).
England’s home matches, along with Ireland v England, are live on ITV. Wales v England is live on the BBC.
England shadow squad
Charlie Atkinson (Wasps, uncapped): The fly half joined the Wasps academy in February 2016 and credits Andrea Masi (Wasps academy coach), Neil Hunter (school coach), Dad (Ian Atkinson) and John Connaughton (rugby league coach) for giving him a good understanding of the game. Rugby runs in the family with Dad Ian playing for Tynedale RFC, Northumberland and also having England U18 trials.
Ali Crossdale (Saracens, uncapped): Whilst at Sarries, Crossdale has been capped by England Under-20s and featured in the 2017 and 2018 World Rugby Championships. He will join Wasps ahead of the 2021/22 season.
Tom Dunn (Bath Rugby, 3 caps): An untimely broken ankle sustained in Bath’s Aviva Premiership match against Harlequins match in February 2017 has not deterred Tom Dunn from maintaining his progress right into the senior England squad. His debut during the 2020 Six Nations against Italy went viral.
David Ribbans (Northampton Saints, uncapped): Born in Somerset West in South Africa, his development saw him named Western Province’s young forward of the year in 2016 as well as being included in the Stormers Super Rugby squad that year. He went onto join Northampton Saints in 2017 and his progress at Franklin’s Gardens saw the English-qualified second row receive a first senior call-up to a training squad in October 2020.
