England head coach Eddie Jones has announced a strong 28 man squad to begin training ahead of the Autumn Internationals, including six Gloucester Rugby players.
The squad will meet up next week for a three-day training camp, ahead of the upcoming Quilter Cup game against the Barbarians on the 25th October.
England will also travel to Rome at the end of October to face Italy in the final round of the 2020 Guinness Six Nations, which was delayed at the start of the year due to the COVID outbreak.
As well as the disruption of the Six Nations competition, Jones has a limited pick of players due to some having to self isolate.
Northampton Saints recently had to forfeit their game against Gloucester Rugby due to a coronavirus outbreak at the club after a large number of COVID positive tests against Sale Shark from the previous week.
12 uncapped players will join the senior mens squad for training camp including, Lewis Ludlow, Alex Mitchell and Nathan Earle.
Players from Bristol, Bath, Wasps, Exeter, Sale and Worcester are unavailable for Eddie Jones’ first selection due to club commitments, meaning usual England rugby names such as Kyle Sinckler, are unavailable for picking.
“Our preparation to build the team for the Italy game starts now. We have a three-day camp this week and another one next week then we’re into the week of our Quilter Cup match against the Barbarians.”
– Eddie Jones, England head coach
The Six Nations competition ended with a triple crown for England after beating Wales 33-30.
“We’re excited to be back together in camp representing England. This autumn we want to play for the fans and give them something to smile about.”, said Jones.
After a difficult year of sport, it’ll be good to see Rugby back on our screens, whether it be with fans in the stadium or not.
Courtney Lawes is out due to an ankle injury and Manu Tuilagi is also unavailable for selection after tearing his achilles in a game against Sale Sharks last week and shall be out for the next six months.
Other lock player, George Kruis will no longer be up for selection for the England Squad as he moves from Scaracens to join the Japanese team, Panasonic Wild Knights in November.
An updated squad will be announced and confirmed after the training camp.
