Fans and pundits have taken to social media to express their thoughts on the latest England training squad which includes no players from Sale, Exeter, Wasps, Bath or Bristol.

On Monday, October 5 head coach Eddie Jones announced his training squad for the upcoming games against the Barbarians, the final round of the Six Nations against Italy and the Autumn Nations Cup.

However due to the upcoming Premiership playoffs Jones has been unable to select players from the competing teams and due to the rise in Covid cases at Sale, five teams are unavailable for selection instead of four.

The other names left out were Worcester's Ted Hill and Ollie Lawrence, who are both also unavailable due to the postponement of their game against Sale.

Among the players called up for international duty were 12 uncapped players including Alex Dombrandt, Saracens youngster Ali Crossdale and Gloucester’s Ollie Thorley.

“We have a three day camp this week and another one next week then we’re into the week of our Quilter Cup match against the Barbarians,” said Jones. “We’ll be slowly building up, working on the basics and working on team cohesion.

“We’re excited to be back together in camp representing England. This autumn we want to play for the fans and give them something to smile about.”

Following a trip to Rome to face Italy (31 October, KO 4.45pm GMT, live on ITV) in the final round of the delayed 2020 Six Nations, England will play four matches as part of the Autumn Nations Cup. 

Internationals at Twickenham against Georgia (14 November, KO 3pm) and Ireland (21 November, KO 3pm) will be followed by an away match vs Wales (28 November, KO 4pm) and a placing match to determine final position in the competition at Twickenham (6 December, KO 2pm). All Autumn Nations Cup games will be live on Amazon Prime.

ENGLAND SQUAD

Backs

Ali Crossdale, Saracens*

Elliot Daly, Saracens

Fraser Dingwall, Northampton Saints*

Nathan Earle, Harlequins*

Owen Farrell, Saracens

George Ford, Leicester Tigers

Piers Francis, Northampton Saints

George Furbank, Northampton Saints

Willi Heinz, Gloucester Rugby

Joe Marchant, Harlequins

Jonny May, Gloucester Rugby

Alex Mitchell, Northampton Saints*

Ollie Thorley, Gloucester Rugby*

Ben Youngs, Leicester Tigers

 

Forwards

Jack Clement, Gloucester Rugby*

Alex Dombrandt, Harlequins*

Ellis Genge, Leicester Tigers

Jamie George, Saracens

Joe Heyes, Leicester Tigers*

Maro Itoje, Saracens

Simon Kerrod, Harlequins*

Lewis Ludlow, Gloucester Rugby*

Alex Moon, Northampton Saints*

David Ribbans, Northampton Saints*

Jack Singleton, Gloucester Rugby

Billy Vunipola, Saracens

Mako Vunipola, Saracens

Mark Wilson, Newcastle Falcons

* Uncapped players

REACTION