Jones names Six Nations and Autumn Nations Cup squad
Eddie Jones has named a 36-player squad for his England side’s autumn tournament fixtures.
England will play their final match of the rescheduled 2020 Guinness Six Nations against Italy at the Stadio Olimpico in Rome on Saturday 31 October (4.45pm GMT KO), knowing a bonus point win could see them lift the trophy.
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They will then return to begin their Autumn Nations Cup campaign at Twickenham Stadium where they will play three Quilter Internationals. England will play Georgia (Saturday 14 November, 3pm KO) and Ireland (Saturday 21 November, 3pm KO). They will then face Wales away (Saturday 28 November, 4pm KO) before a placing match at home to determine final position in the competition (Sunday 6 December, 2pm KO).
England have been in training for the fixtures during October at The Lensbury in Teddington. The squad includes seven Gallagher Premiership finalists - Exeter Chiefs trio Jonny Hill, Henry Slade and Harry Williams, along with Wasps’ Joe Launchbury, Dan Robson, Jacob Umaga and Jack Willis.
Luke Cowan-Dickie, Ali Crossdale, Courtney Lawes, Jack Nowell, Manu Tuilagi and Mark Wilson are unavailable due to injury. Elliot Daly, George Ford and Joe Marler will join up with the squad for reconditioning.
Jones said: “We have to put our best foot forward if we want to win the Six Nations. We need to set the tone of the game and we want to put a smile on fans’ faces, a lot of people are enduring hardships and we are grateful for the opportunity to represent England in these difficult times.
We’re very happy with what we’ve seen in the mini-camps and the Barbarians’ training week, it’s been really competitive.
Eddie Jones
“We were obviously disappointed with the postponement of the Barbarians game but we moved to plan B, had a highly competitive training session instead of the match and now we are fully focused on the Italy game and the goal of winning the Six Nations.
“It was a tough squad to pick and I know there are a number of disappointed players that have just missed out. We’ve got a good balance between experience and inexperience.
“With nine players out injured, it does create some opportunities for the younger guys to show what they can do. We’re very happy with what we’ve seen in the mini-camps and the Barbarians’ training week, it’s been really competitive.”
Recently appointed skills coach Jason Ryles will join up with the team for the start of the Autumn Nations Cup, after finishing the season and winning the NRL Grand Final with Melbourne Storm, where he was assistant coach.
Italy v England is live on ITV 1 and all Autumn Nations Cup games will be live on Amazon Prime.
England squad
Backs
Joe Cokanasiga (Bath Rugby, 9 caps)
Owen Farrell (Saracens, 83 caps)
George Furbank (Northampton Saints, 2 caps)
Willi Heinz (Gloucester Rugby, 13 caps)
Jonathan Joseph (Bath Rugby, 50 caps)
Ollie Lawrence (Worcester Warriors, uncapped)
Max Malins (Bristol Bears, uncapped)
Joe Marchant (Harlequins, 3 caps)
Jonny May (Gloucester Rugby, 56 caps)
Dan Robson (Wasps, 2 caps)
Henry Slade (Exeter Chiefs, 29 caps)
Ollie Thorley (Gloucester Rugby, uncapped)
Jacob Umaga (Wasps, uncapped)
Anthony Watson (Bath Rugby, 43 caps)
Ben Youngs (Leicester Tigers, 99 caps)
Forwards
Tom Curry (Sale Sharks, 23 caps)
Tom Dunn (Bath Rugby, uncapped)
Ben Earl (Bristol Bears, 3 caps)
Charlie Ewels (Bath Rugby, 15 caps)
Ellis Genge (Leicester Tigers, 18 caps)
Jamie George (Saracens, 49 caps)
Jonny Hill (Exeter Chiefs, uncapped)
Ted Hill (Worcester Warriors, 1 cap)
Maro Itoje (Saracens, 38 caps)
Joe Launchbury (Wasps, 65 caps)
Lewis Ludlam (Northampton Saints, 8 caps)
Beno Obano (Bath Rugby, uncapped)
David Ribbans (Northampton Saints, uncapped)
Jack Singleton (Gloucester Rugby, 3 caps)
Kyle Sinckler (Bristol Bears, 35 caps)
Will Stuart (Bath Rugby, 3 caps)
Sam Underhill (Bath Rugby, 18 caps)
Billy Vunipola (Saracens, 51 caps)
Mako Vunipola (Saracens, 59 caps)
Harry Williams (Exeter Chiefs, 18 caps)
Jack Willis (Wasps, uncapped)
GUINNESS SIX NATIONS 2020
- Saturday 31 October 2020: Italy v England KO 16:45 GMT, Stadio Olimpico, Rome (LIVE on ITV)
ENGLAND MEN 2020 QUILTER INTERNATIONALS AS PART OF THE AUTUMN NATIONS CUP
- Saturday 14 November 2020: England v Georgia KO 15:00 GMT, Twickenham Stadium (LIVE on Amazon Prime)
- Saturday 21 November 2020: England v Ireland KO 15:00 GMT, Twickenham (LIVE on Amazon Prime and Channel 4)
- Saturday 28 November 2020: Wales v England KO 16:00 GMT, venue TBC (LIVE on Amazon Prime)
- Sunday 6 December 2020: England v TBC KO 14:00 GMT, Twickenham Stadium (LIVE on Amazon Prime)
