England head coach Steve Borthwick has named an enhanced 36-man training squad for next weekend’s match against a France XV, featuring seven players fresh from Bath Rugby’s Premiership final victory. Bath’s Charlie Ewels, Ted Hill, Guy Pepper, Will Muir, Max Ojomoh, and Ben Spencer join the squad following their 23-21 triumph over Leicester Tigers at Twickenham’s Allianz Stadium. Additionally, flanker Sam Underhill returns after serving part of a suspension, although he still has one match remaining due to a high tackle in Bath’s recent EPCR Challenge Cup final success.
From Leicester Tigers, Joe Heyes, Freddie Steward, and Jack van Poortvliet have been selected. However, van Poortvliet has subsequently been called to train with the British and Irish Lions after an injury sidelined Leinster’s Jamison Gibson-Park. The Lions are set to play Argentina in Dublin on Friday as part of their summer tour.
Notably absent this time is 21-year-old Saracens scrum-half Charlie Bracken, despite being among the 16 uncapped players named in the initial training group earlier in the week. Sale’s Ben Curry joins the squad in recovery alongside Northampton’s Fraser Dingwall and George Furbank, and Bristol’s Harry Randall.
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Players involved with the British and Irish Lions tour to Australia, including Joe Batley, Ollie Lawrence, Alex Lozowski, George Martin, and Ollie Sleightholme, have not been considered for this England squad.
The England XV will take on the France XV in an uncapped fixture at Twickenham’s Allianz Stadium on Saturday, serving as a critical trial ahead of upcoming Tests against the United States and Argentina.
England XV Squad:
Forwards: Fin Baxter (Harlequins), Arthur Clark (Gloucester), Alex Coles (Northampton), Chandler Cunningham-South (Harlequins), Theo Dan (Saracens), Trevor Davison (Northampton), Alex Dombrandt (Harlequins), Charlie Ewels (Bath), Jamie George (Saracens), Joe Heyes (Leicester), Ted Hill (Bath), Nick Isiekwe (Saracens), Manny Iyogun (Northampton), Jack Kenningham (Harlequins), Curtis Langdon (Northampton), Asher Opoku-Fordjour (Sale), Guy Pepper (Bath), Bevan Rodd (Sale), Sam Underhill (Bath), Tom Willis (Saracens).
Backs: Charlie Atkinson (Gloucester), Seb Atkinson (Gloucester), Oscar Beard (Harlequins), Joe Carpenter (Sale), Immanuel Feyi-Waboso (Exeter), George Ford (Sale), Will Muir (Bath), Cadan Murley (Harlequins), Luke Northmore (Harlequins), Max Ojomoh (Bath), Raffi Quirke (Sale), Tom Roebuck (Sale), Henry Slade (Exeter), Ben Spencer (Bath), Freddie Steward (Leicester), Jack van Poortvliet (Leicester).