England Six Nations Squad Announced

England Six Nations Squad

England Six Nations Squad Announced

England have announced their squad for the forthcoming Six Nations tournament. Kicking off against Scotland on February 6th they have announced a 28 man squad to use for the competition. There is also a 12 man ‘shadow-squad’ that will be subject to the same testing protocols as the main squad so will be available for selection in case of injuries or suspension. There are a number of high profile ommissions as well as players earning their first call ups.

 Debutants

Poalo Odogwu (Wasps) and Harry Randall (Bristol) have been called up for the first time for England. Both of which were dual nationality, for Italy and Wales respectively, but have chosen the red rose and will hope to get their first caps in the forthcoming tournament. There is also a call up for Beno Obano into the squad again, hoping this time he can make his debut. Within the shadow squad there is a number of potential debutants also. Charlie Atkinson (Wasps) who would have been expecting to feature for the U20 side, Ali Crossdale (Saracens), Joe Heyes (Leicester Tigers), George Martin (Leicester Tigers), Alex Mitchell (Northampton Saints) & Jacob Umaga (Wasps) all could potentially make their international bow too.

 Who missed out?

With a smaller than usual squad announced in order to maintain testing protocols, there are a number of players who may consider themselves unlucky. Kyle Sinckler is arguably the most notable absentee from the front row. There is also no place for the Simmonds brothers from Exeter, who must be wondering what they have to do in order to get a call up with Sam Simmonds leading the scoring charts in the premiership at the time of the squad announcement. Other notable players who have missed out are Lewis Ludlam and Jack Willis, the latter only making it to the shadow squad. Likewise, Jonathan Joseph who was a first team starter in the most recent fixtures. Eddie Jones has said:

“This is a really tough squad to pick. I know there are a lot of disappointed players”

 Did the Saracens players make it?

Arguably, the lack of rugby for Saracens players could have been a reason for Eddie Jones to avoid selecting a number of his familiar faces. However, he has remained faithful and stuck with a number of familiar and trusted faces.  A total of 5 Saracens are within the squad along with Crossdale who features in the shadow squad.

 Squad in Full

Forwards:

Luke Cowan-Dickie, Exeter Chiefs (26 Caps)

Tom Curry, Sale Sharks (28 Caps)

Ben Earl, Bristol Bears (8 Caps)

Ellis Genge, Leicester Tigers (23 Caps)

Jamie George, Saracens (54 Caps)

Jonny Hill, Exeter Chiefs (4 Caps)

Maro Itoje, Saracens (43 Caps)

Joe Launchbury, Wasps (69 Caps)

Courtney Lawes, Northampton Saints (85 Caps)

Joe Marler, Harlequins (72 Caps)

Beno Obano, Bath (Uncapped)

Will Stuart, Bath (8 Caps)

Sam Underhill, Bath (22 Caps)

Billy Vunipola, Saracens (56 Caps)

Harry Williams, Exeter Chiefs (18 Caps)

Mark Wilson, Newcastle Falcons (17 Caps)

Backs:

Elliot Daly, Saracens (47 Caps)

Owen Farrell, Saracens (88 Caps)

Geroge Ford, Leicester Tigers (72 Caps)

Ollie Lawrence, Worcester Warriors (3 Caps)

Max Malins, Bristol Bears (3 Caps)

Jonny May, Gloucester (61 Caps)

Paolo Odogwu, Wasps (Uncapped)

Harry Randall, Bristol Bears (Uncapped)

Dan Robson, Wasps (7 Caps)

Henry Slade, Exeter Chiefs (34 Caps)

Anthony Watson, Bath (46 Caps)

Ben Youngs, Leicester Tigers (104 Caps)

Shadow Squad

As stated above there is also a shadow squad for this year’s Six Nations, where Eddie Jones has gone for a mixture of youth and experience so that he can select from a variety of players if it is required. The players in the shadow squad are;

Charlie Atkinson, Wasps (Uncapped)

Ali Crossdale, Saracens (Uncapped)

Tom Dunn, Bath (3 Caps)

Charlie Ewels, Bath (17 Caps)

George Furbank, Northampton Saints (3 Caps)

Joe Heyes, Leicester Tigers (Uncapped)

Jonathan Joseph, Bath (54 Caps)

Joe Marchant, Harlequins (4 Caps)

George Martin, Leicester Tigers (Uncapped)

Alex Mitchell, Northampton Saints (Uncapped)

Jacob Umaga, Wasps (Uncapped)

Jack Willis, Wasps (2 Caps)

What do you think about this squad? Has Eddie made any mistakes or you think this squad has what it takes to win the championship? Let us know on Twitter @LWOSRugby or on LWOS Boards

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