England head coach Eddie Jones has revealed the reasons for Sam Underhill and Manu Tuilagi's omission from his Six Nations training squad.
There are six new faces in the squad: Orlando Bailey, Alfie Barbeary, Ollie Chessum, Tommy Freeman, Ollie Hassell-Collins and Luke Northmore.
However, what made the headlines was the omission of a number of high-profile stars, including George Ford, Underhill and Tuilagi.
Despite not mentioning Ford, Jones explained the current situation of the other two players.
“Sam is not quite ready,” explained Jones. “He has had a fairly truncated period since the autumn but we are hopeful he will get himself fit and match ready for later in the tournament.”
As regards Tuilagi, Sale boss Alex Sanderson had recently suggested the midfielder was close to a comeback but that no longer appears to be the case.
Nevertheless, Jones revealed: “He has had a wee setback but we will just have to wait and see what he is up to. He needs to get some training, needs to play a few games.
"If we are 100 per cent optimistic we’d say yes (he will feature in the Six Nations). If we are realistic it’s probably about a 50/50.”
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BACK-THREE:
- 15 Elliot Daly (Saracens)
- 14. Louis Lynagh (Harlequins)
- 11. Adam Radwan (Newcastle Falcons)
Adam Radwan of England during the Autumn Nations Match between England and Tonga at Twickenham Stoop on 6 November 2021. Photo: Tom Sandberg/PPAUK
CENTRES:
- 13. Jonathan Joseph (Bath RFC)
- 12. Manu Tuilagi (Sale Sharks)
Manu Tuilagi of England during the Autumn Nations Match between England and Tonga at Twickenham Stoop on 6 November 2021. Photo: Tom Sandberg/PPAUK
HALFBACKS:
- 10. George Ford (Leicester Tigers)
- 9. Danny Care (Harlequins)
Leicester Tigers player George Ford (c) during the Gallagher Premiership rugby game between Leicester Tigers and Bath Rugby at Mattioli Woods Welford Road on Nov 5th - PHOTO: Steve Bond/PPAUK
FRONT-ROW:
- 1. Mako Vunipola (Saracens)
- 2. Nic Dolly (Leicester Tigers)
- 3. Dan Cole (Leicester Tigers)
Mako Vunipola of England during the Autumn Nations Cup match between England and Ireland at Twickenham Stadium, Twickenham, London on November 21 2020. - PHOTO: Phil Mingo/PPAUK
SECOND-ROW:
- 4. Elliot Stooke (Wasps)
- 5. Nick Isiekwe (Saracens)
Nick Isiekwe of Saracens wins the lineout ahead of Dan Thomas of Bristol Bears during the Gallagher Premiership Rugby Match between Bristol Bears and Saracens at Ashton Gate on 17 Sep. Photo: Tom Sandberg/PPAUK
BACK-ROW:
- 6. Tom Willis (Wasps)
- 7. Sam Underhill (Bath RFC)
- 8. Billy Vunipola (Saracens)
Sam Underhill of England during the Autumn Nations Match between England and South Africa at Twickenham Stadium on 20 November 2021. Photo: Tom Sandberg/PPAUK
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- Jordie Barrett over Damian de Allende is far from being correct. The hype around Dupont is also overreaching, he's probably 4th in the world and has been since the 2023 WC. He also avoids certain matchups which is strange. The rest of the list is pretty good apart from minor subjective biases.JasonMarlow16-09-2026
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