Sam Simmonds sent home in bid to recover from injury as Eddie Jones names Six Nations squad

Sam Simmonds will miss this week’s training camp in west London due to the shoulder injury that he suffered in the 12-6 victory over Wales last Saturday, but the back-row injury problems that England entered the championship with have been somewhat alleviated by the return of James Haskell and Nathan Hughes.

Eddie Jones has named fit-again Wasps No 8 Hughes in a 32-man squad along with Haskell, with the England squad set to train against Georgia on Tuesday and Wednesday as they attempt to improve both their scrum and lineouts. However, unlike the session with Wales last November, the backs will also go head-to-head as Georgia coach Milton Haig insisted on bringing his entire squad to London.

Simmonds suffered a blow to his shoulder two minutes before half-time on Saturday and was replaced at half-time by Sam Underhill, with the back-row returning to Exeter Chiefs this week for further treatment. The injury is not bad enough to rule him out of the Six Nations clash with Scotland, but he will need monitoring to see how he recovers ahead of the trip to Murrayfield on 24 February.

One other name who featured in Saturday’s win but misses out is Saracens lock George Kruis, with Bath’s Charlie Ewels – back in the mix after recovering from a hamstring knock – included alongside Kruis’ club colleague Nick Isiekwe.

Jones’ squad is made up largely of the same players that have featured in the championship so far this month, with loosehead prop Joe Marler joining Haskell in returning from suspension, while Hughes is included after making his comeback from a two-month knee injury in Wasps’ 44-22 victory over Harlequins on Sunday.

open image in gallery

Haskell returns to the squad at the expense of Newcastle Falcons’ Gary Graham, though both Haskell and Marler have been training with the squad for the last two weeks despite their suspensions.

But there are a couple of noticeable names included with asterisks next to their names, as long-term apprentice Marcus Smith is joined by his Harlequins’ teammate Gabriel Ibitoye and Sale Sharks back-row Sam Moore. 19-year-old wing Ibitoye starred in England Under-20s’ 37-12 victory over Wales Under-20s last Friday, scoring an impressive solo try shortly after half-time, while No 8 Moore also impressed Jones enough to earn his first call-up as an apprentice.

The absence of Simmons could pave the way for an immediate return for Hughes to the starting line-up, with England’s only other natural No 8 being the uncapped 20-year-old Zach Mercer, though the Fiji-born ball carrier has only played 24 minutes of rugby since Sunday 17 December after suffering a knee injury in Wasps’ victory over La Rochelle.

There is no return for Hughes’ Wasps teammate Elliot Daly, who suffered a syndesmosis injury in his ankle in the same match, but it’s believed that he could make his return for his club against Exeter this weekend and could be in the mix against the Scots.

Full backs

Mike Brown (Harlequins), Gabriel Ibitoye (Harlequins)*, Harry Mallinder (Northampton Saints), Jonny May (Leicester Tigers), Jack Nowell (Exeter Chiefs), Denny Solomona (Sale Sharks), Anthony Watson (Bath Rugby).

Inside backs

Danny Care (Harlequins), Owen Farrell (Saracens), George Ford (Leicester Tigers), Jonathan Joseph (Bath Rugby), Marcus Smith (Harlequins)*, Ben Te’o (Worcester Warriors), Richard Wigglesworth (Saracens).

Back five

Charlie Ewels (Bath Rugby), James Haskell (Wasps), Nathan Hughes (Wasps), Nick Isiekwe (Saracens), Maro Itoje (Saracens), Courtney Lawes (Northampton Saints), Joe Launchbury (Wasps), Zach Mercer (Bath Rugby) Sam Moore (Sale Sharks)*, Chris Robshaw (Harlequins), Sam Underhill (Bath Rugby).

Front row

Dan Cole (Leicester Tigers), Luke Cowan-Dickie (Exeter Chiefs), Jamie George (Saracens), Dylan Hartley (Northampton Saints), Joe Marler (Harlequins), Mako Vunipola (Saracens), Harry Williams (Exeter Chiefs)