England announce squads

 

Stuart Lancaster has announced the July 2012 Senior and England Saxons Elite Player Squads, with seven new faces being called into the main 32.

Call-ups have been given to Leicester Tigers trio Anthony Allen, Geoff Parling and Thomas Waldrom, as well as Danny Care (Harlequins), Alex Goode (Saracens), Tom Johnson (Exeter Chiefs) and Jonathan Joseph (London Irish).

26 of the squad who toured South Africa are included, along with Tom Croft (Leicester), Courtney Lawes (Northampton), Charlie Sharples (Gloucester), Matt Stevens (Saracens), Rob Webber (Bath) and Tom Wood (Northampton Saints), who did not travel because of injury.

There is no place in the 32 for loose forward James Haskell nor wing David Strettle.

There are first appearances in the Saxons for George Ford (Leicester), Matt Kvesic (Worcester) and Christian Wade (London Wasps) - all from the 2011 U20s squad - as well as Nathan Catt (Bath) and Sale Sharks' Rob Miller - top try scorer in the Aviva Premiership last season.

"Congratulations to all those chosen for both squads. We spent a long time deciding on these 64 and there were some tough decisions to make," said Lancaster.

"Selecting players at this stage gives us an early chance to sit down and assess the tour and look forward to next season. However, experience tells us that form and fitness will play a major role in selection prior to the QBE Internationals in November and December and any of the players in the Senior and Saxons squads could easily be involved.

"We saw this in January when Geoff Parling came in as an injury replacement for Louis Deacon and has played every Test since - there is always movement which opens the door for players and I am sure next season will be no different.

"The great thing is that we have got competition across the board and strength in depth developing in many positions with players who will be around for the next few years. There are also some exciting players just on the cusp of the squads such as Tom Homer, Charlie Matthews, Tom Heathcote and Elliot Daly, who we are really looking forward to seeing develop in the next 12 months and beyond."

The players from both squads will attend a training camp at Loughborough University between August 6 and 8 and Lancasteradded: "It will be a rugby-focused few days, giving us the chance to review theSouth Africatour and set our goals for next season and further."

The 2012 England Under 20 EPS will be announced in September.

England Elite Player Squad (32)

Forwards (17): Mouritz Botha (Saracens), Alex Corbisiero (London Irish), Dan Cole (Leicester Tigers), Tom Croft (Leicester Tigers), Phil Dowson (Northampton Saints), Dylan Hartley (Northampton Saints), Tom Johnson (Exeter Chiefs), Courtney Lawes (Northampton Saints), Joe Marler (Harlequins), Ben Morgan (Gloucester), Tom Palmer (London Wasps), Geoff Parling (Leicester Tigers), Chris Robshaw (Harlequins), Matt Stevens (Saracens), Thomas Waldrom (Leicester Tigers), Rob Webber (Bath), Tom Wood (Northampton Saints).

Backs (15): Anthony Allen (Leicester Tigers), Chris Ashton (Saracens), Brad Barritt (Saracens), Mike Brown (Harlequins), Danny Care (Harlequins), Lee Dickson (Northampton Saints), Owen Farrell (Saracens), Toby Flood (Leicester Tigers), Ben Foden (Northampton Saints), Alex Goode (Saracens), Jonathan Joseph (London Irish), Charlie Sharples (Gloucester Rugby), Manusamoa Tuilagi (Leicester Tigers), Jordan Turner-Hall (Harlequins), Ben Youngs (Leicester Tigers).

England Saxons (32)

Forwards (18): Nathan Catt (Bath), Calum Clark (Northampton Saints), Louis Deacon (Leicester Tigers), Paul Doran Jones (Northampton Saints), Carl Fearns (Bath), James Gaskell (Sale Sharks), Jamie Gibson (London Irish), Joe Gray (Harlequins), James Haskell (London Wasps), Graham Kitchener (Leicester Tigers), Matt Kvesic (Worcester Warriors), Joe Launchbury (London Wasps), Matt Mullan (Worcester Warriors), David Paice (London Irish), George Robson (Harlequins), Henry Thomas (Sale Sharks), David Wilson (Bath), Tom Youngs (Leicester Tigers).

Backs (14): Nick Abendanon (Bath), Miles Benjamin (Leicester Tigers), Tom Biggs (Bath), Freddie Burns (Gloucester), George Ford (Leicester Tigers), George Lowe (Harlequins), Jonny May (Gloucester), Rob Miller (Sale Sharks), Ugo Monye (Harlequins), Joe Simpson (London Wasps), David Strettle (Saracens), Billy Twelvetrees (Gloucester), Christian Wade (London Wasps), Richard Wigglesworth (Saracens).