A leak has revealed some surprising call-ups by Steve Borthwick ahead of his inaugural training camp for England’s summer tour to Japan and New Zealand.
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The England coach is expected to announce a preliminary squad of around 20 players on Sunday afternoon, comprising those from the six clubs not participating in the Premiership semi-finals.
Additional players will be added in the coming weeks, with the final squad set to be announced on June 10.
The Telegraph indicate that Jack van Poortvliet, who has recently recovered from a serious ankle injury, will be recalled. Other Leicester players confirmed to be in the squad include, Joe Heyes, Freddie Steward, Dan Cole and George Martin.
They’ve also confirmed that Gloucester number 8 Zach Mercer will also return after mending his relationship with Borthwick.
RUCK sources also suggest that veteran second-row Joe Launchbury will be recalled to the squad. He will be joined in the squad by his Quins teammates, Marcus Smith and Chandler Cunningham-South.
Here, we examine the seven exciting uncapped players reportedly named by Borthwick.
Uncapped players set to be called-up:
Greg Fisilau and Rusi Tuima (Exeter Chiefs)
The inclusion of Fisilau and Tuima comes in response to the absences of Ellis Genge and Ollie Chessum, prompting Borthwick to evaluate his forward options before finalizing the training squad on Sunday.
Borthwick has closely monitored 20-year-old Fisilau, who started 14 Premiership matches and played a key role in the club’s advance to the quarter-finals of the Investec Champions Cup.
Although 24-year-old Tuima has faced recent injury issues, which kept him out of the Chiefs’ Champions Cup match against Toulouse, he has still had a standout season, scoring eight tries across all competitions for Rob Baxter’s side.