Billy Vunipola and George Ford among those left out of England training squad

Five experienced players haven’t been included with Eddie Jones opting to instead bring in some fresh blood

Sarah Rendell
Tuesday 21 September 2021 05:58 EDT
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Billy Vunipola isn’t included in Eddie Jones’ squad
Billy Vunipola isn’t included in Eddie Jones’ squad (Getty Images)

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Billy Vunipola, Mako Vunipola and George Ford are among the casualties in Eddie Jones’ latest England culling as he named a 45-man training squad.

The head coach has also excluded Elliot Daly - who is understood not to be fully fit - and Jamie George, the five had been involved in the squad since Jones took over as boss in 2015.

Jones has opted to bring in fresh blood with eight uncapped players named with nine stars who played for England for the first time in the summer, including Marcus Smith, on the list.

Fans will be happy to see Sam Simmonds called to action after it seemed he had fallen out of favour under Jones and some familiar faces are listed including captain Owen Farrell, Maro Itoje and Joe Marler.

The changes come along with a new look coaching staff as Richard Cockerill, Martin Gleeson and Anthony Seibold joined Jones’ team in the summer. The training camp is part of the squad’s preparations for the autumn internationals where they will play Tonga, Australia and South Africa.

“We have left out some experienced players but we’re really clear that the door isn’t closed to them, and we’re looking forward to seeing them work hard to get back into contention,” said Jones. “We have five campaigns now until the 2023 World Cup so each one counts, and this is a chance for this 45 to impress the new coaching staff.”

Full squad

Forwards: Jamie Blamire, Callum Chick, Luke Cowan-Dickie, Tom Curry, Trevor Davison, Alex Dombrandt, Charlie Ewels, Ellis Genge, Joe Heyes, Jonny Hill, Ted Hill, Maro Itoje, Jack Kenningham, Courtney Lawes, Lewis Ludlam, Lewis Ludlow, Joe Marler, George Martin, Beno Obano, Gabriel Oghre, Sam Riley, Bevan Rodd, Sam Simmonds, Kyle Sinckler, Will Stuart, Sam Underhill.

Backs: Mark Atkinson, Owen Farrell, George Furbank, Ollie Lawrence, Louis Lynagh, Max Malins, Joe Marchant, Jonny May, Raffi Quirke, Adam Radwan, Harry Randall, Dan Robson, Henry Slade, Ollie Sleightholme, Marcus Smith, Freddie Steward, Manu Tuilagi, Anthony Watson, Ben Youngs

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