Manu Tuilagi and Owen Farrell have been selected in Eddie Jones’ 36-man training squad ahead of England’s fixture against the Barbarians and summer tour to Australia after missing the Guinness Six Nations through injury.
Tuilagi suffered a hamstring blow after opening the scoring in the 27-26 win over South Africa in last year’s Autumn Nations Series, a game captain Farrell missed having sustained an ankle blow in the previous week’s triumph over Australia.
Farrell missed the entirety of the 2022 Guinness Six Nations, where England finished third with two wins over Italy and Wales – a game which Tuilagi had been initially selected to start before having to pull out with another hamstring problem which he failed to recover from in time to feature in the Championship.
Jones has also selected exciting young full-back Henry Arundell, 19, who lit up the Six Nations Under-20s for England this year and after scoring several spectacular tries for London Irish, including one length-of-the-field effort in the Challenge Cup that went viral earlier this month, has received his first senior call-up.
Arundell is one of ten uncapped players selected, including club teammate Will Joseph, the younger brother of England centre Jonathan, with both involved in tonight’s Premiership Rugby Cup final against Worcester Warriors.
Head coach Jones said: “We’re going to use this camp as an opportunity to prepare a base game for the Barbarians fixture and for a really important Australia tour.
“We’ll focus on how we want to play, how we want to be as a team off the field and continue to develop the squad cohesiveness and behaviours.
“It is also 16 months to the World Cup and every minute counts. We want a hard-working and enjoyable environment for the players and make sure we are all on the same page. We are allowed a squad of 36 players, so it has been a balancing act.”
After a busy season on the pitch, Jones has chosen to rest some of his more experienced stars but there is a return for Farrell’s Saracens teammate Mako Vunipola who is recalled for the first time since the 2021 Guinness Six Nations.
Jones added: “We want to take a look at some younger players and prepare a base camp for the Barbarians game, particularly as we will be without the Premiership finalists, and also give some senior players a rest as we get to a crucial part of the season. These players will still be in contention for the Australia tour.”
The squad will meet up on Sunday for a three-day training camp with England playing the Barbarians on Sunday 19 June, the day after the Gallagher Premiership final, while the first of three Tests Down Under against the Wallabies takes place on Saturday 2 July in Perth.
Then attention will turn to the Autumn Nations Series where England will face New Zealand for the first time since the dramatic 2019 Rugby World Cup semi-final when the Red Rose prevailed 19-7 in Yokohama.
Jones’ men will begin their campaign against Argentina at Twickenham on 6 November before facing Japan, the All Blacks and world champions South Africa in successive weeks.
England’s 36-man training squad
Forwards Alfie Barbeary (Wasps, uncapped) Jamie Blamire Ollie Chessum Tom Curry Nic Dolly (Leicester Tigers, 1 cap) Alex Dombrandt Charlie Ewels Ellis Genge Joe Heyes Maro Itoje Joe Launchbury Courtney Lawes Lewis Ludlam George McGuigan (Newcastle Falcons, uncapped) Tom Pearson (London Irish, uncapped) Bevan Rodd Will Stuart Sam Underhill Mako Vunipola Jack Willis
Backs Henry Arundell (London Irish, uncapped) Orlando Bailey (Bath Rugby, uncapped) Joe Cokanasiga Fraser Dingwall (Northampton Saints, uncapped) Owen Farrell Tommy Freeman (Northampton Saints, uncapped) George Furbank Will Joseph (London Irish, uncapped) Louis Lynagh (Harlequins, uncapped) Alex Mitchell (Northampton Saints, 1 cap) Harry Randall Marcus Smith Freddie Steward Manu Tuilagi Jack van Poortvliet (Leicester Tigers, uncapped) Anthony Watson
