Six uncapped players in England's 36-man Six Nations squad
Alfie Barbeary has been included in England squad
©Steve Haag
England coach Eddie Jones has named six uncapped players in the 36-man squad for the upcoming Six Nations tournament.
Orlando Bailey, Alfie Barbeary, Ollie Chessum, Tommy Freeman, Ollie Hassell-Collins and Luke Northmore are all part of the squad as they look to build towards the 20223 World Cup in France.
Owen Farrell has been retained as the skipper but there has been no place for George Ford with Marcus Smith is favourite to don the number 10 jersey.
Exeter wing Jack Nowell is set to make his first England appearance since the 2019 World Cup after successful recovery from injuries but Elliot Daly misses out despite successful recovery from a stress fracture while there are no places for Mako and Billy Vunipola, who continue to remain on the sidelines.
“Selecting this squad has been a difficult task, we’ve got plenty of good young players coming through and some of our more experienced are rediscovering their best form," said Jones.
“We think this 36 for the first training week reflects a good balance of that experience and up-and-coming talent.
“The Six Nations is going to be the most competitive we’ve ever seen. All the countries performed well in the autumn, so we need to be at our best and improve with every game.”
England will kick-start their Six Nations campaign with a clash against Scotland to be played at BT Murrayfield on 5th February followed by an encounter against Italy on 13th February at Stadio Olimpico.
England squad:
Forwards: Alfie Barbeary (Wasps), Jamie Blamire (Newcastle Falcons), Ollie Chessum, Leicester Tigers), Luke Cowan-Dickie (Exeter Chiefs), Tom Curry (Sale Sharks), Alex Dombrandt (Harlequins), Charlie Ewels (Bath Rugby), Ellis Genge (Leicester Tigers), Jamie George (Saracens), Joe Heyes (Leicester Tigers), Jonny Hill (Exeter Chiefs), Maro Itoje (Saracens), Courtney Lawes (Northampton Saints), Lewis Ludlam (Northampton Saints), Joe Marler (Harlequins), Bevan Rodd (Sale Sharks), Sam Simmonds (Exeter Chiefs), Kyle Sinckler (Bristol Bears), Will Stuart (Bath Rugby).
Backs: Mark Atkinson (Gloucester Rugby), Orlando Bailey (Bath Rugby), Owen Farrell (Saracens), Tommy Freeman (Northampton Saints), George Furbank (Northampton Saints), Ollie Hassell-Collins (London Irish), Max Malins (Saracens), Joe Marchant (Harlequins), Jonny May (Gloucester Rugby), Luke Northmore (Harlequins), Jack Nowell (Exeter Chiefs), Raffi Quirke (Sale Sharks), Harry Randall (Bristol Bears), Henry Slade (Exeter Chiefs), Marcus Smith (Harlequins), Freddie Steward (Leicester Tigers), Ben Youngs (Leicester Tigers).
