Eddie Jones has named four uncapped players in his England squads to take on Australia in a three-Test series this summer as well as their clash with Wales next weekend.
The four new faces are Worcester Warriors-bound Leinster centre Ben Te’o, Northampton Saints’ back-row forward Teimana Harrison, 21-year-old Leicester Tigers loose-head prop Ellis Genge and Harlequins tight-head prop Kyle Sinckler.
Jones has picked a squad with a physical edge to go Down Under and match the Wallabies, and British & Irish Lions Owen Farrell and Manu Tuilagi have both been included despite injury concerns.
Saracens beat Leicester Tigers in the Premiership semi-final yesterday at Allianz Park but Farrell sustained a rib injury while Tuilagi suffered a hamstring strain.
Five Lions make the cut
Other Lions tourists that won in Australia in 2013 include Ben Youngs, Dan Cole and Mako Vunipola but the marquee inclusions are rugby league convert Teo and prop Genge – who gets his chance at loosehead in the absence of Joe Marler who made himself unavailable for selection.
Chris Ashton is also overlooked despite his fine try-scoring form of late as Harlequins flyer Marland Yarde is included, while Exeter Chief Henry Slade is named having been unavailable for selection for the Grand Slam win earlier this year through injury.
And Jones – whose has named a 26-man squad to face Wales at Twickenham next weekend before 32 players fly to Australia – is confident he has found the right blend.
“We have selected two squads of players who can win all four games,” said England head coach Jones.
“It’s important we get off to a good start against Wales and play positive rugby and win.
“We are excited to be touring Australia in June. To beat the Wallabies in Australia you have to play a physical, aggressive brand of rugby and that’s what we intend to do. We will need to be a fit, cohesive, tactically flexible team and play with a high intensity. We have to be in their faces from the first minute of the first Test.
“But we are in no doubt of the challenge we face. England have only ever won three Tests in Australia and never won in Brisbane, so it is a great opportunity for us to create new history.”
England on the up
The 26-man squad to play Wales for the Old Mutual Wealth Cup at Twickenham on Sunday 29 May meets at Pennyhill Park today. It does not include players from Saracens and Exeter Chiefs who compete for the Aviva Premiership title on Saturday 28 May.
And the 32-man squad will begins their tour of Australia at Suncorp Stadium in Brisbane on Saturday 11 June.
England won their first Grand Slam in 13 years during the 2016 RBS 6 Nations but Jones is adamant that there is plenty of room for improvement.
“We are still a young squad with an average age of 24 so this will be a big learning experience. This will be the first time many of the players will have toured Australia so there’s no historical baggage there and mentally we’ll be in a good place off the back of the RBS 6 Nations,” he added.
“The Grand Slam was just the start of our journey. We’re ranked fourth in the world and are still developing our identity and we have a long way to go to get to where we ultimately want to be. This tour will provide a good chance for us to measure up to the Southern Hemisphere and try to close that gap.
“Australia are the second-ranked team in the world and their coach is the World Rugby Coach of the Year, so their supporters will expect a positive result from them. We will upset the apple cart.
“Dylan Hartley will lead the side again having captained the team excellently during the RBS 6 Nations and during our recent training camp to Brighton.”
England Senior 32-man squad for Australia tour
Forwards
Dan Cole (Leicester Tigers)
Luke Cowan-Dickie (Exeter Chiefs)
Jack Clifford (Harlequins)
Ellis Genge (Leicester Tigers)
Jamie George (Saracens)
Teimana Harrison (Northampton Saints)
Dylan Hartley – captain (Northampton Saints)
James Haskell (Wasps)
Paul Hill (Northampton Saints)
Maro Itoje (Saracens)
George Kruis (Saracens)
Joe Launchbury (Wasps)
Courtney Lawes (Northampton Saints)
Matt Mullan (Wasps)
Chris Robshaw (Harlequins)
Kyle Sinckler (Harlequins)
Billy Vunipola (Saracens)
Mako Vunipola (Saracens)
Backs
Mike Brown (Harlequins)
Danny Care (Harlequins)
Elliot Daly (Wasps)
Owen Farrell (Saracens)
George Ford (Bath Rugby)
Alex Goode (Saracens)
Jonathan Joseph (Bath Rugby)
Jack Nowell (Exeter Chiefs)
Henry Slade (Exeter Chiefs)
Ben Te’o (Worcester Warriors)
Manu Tuilagi (Leicester Tigers)
Anthony Watson (Bath Rugby)
Marland Yarde (Harlequins)
Ben Youngs (Leicester Tigers)
England Senior 26-man squad for Old Mutual Wealth Cup against Wales
Forwards
Dave Attwood (Bath Rugby)
Dan Cole (Leicester Tigers)
Jack Clifford (Harlequins)
Ellis Genge (Leicester Tigers)
Dylan Hartley (Northampton Saints)
Teimana Harrison (Northampton Saints)
James Haskell (Wasps)
Paul Hill (Northampton Saints)
Matt Kvesic (Gloucester Rugby)
Joe Launchbury (Wasps)
Courtney Lawes (Northampton Saints)
Matt Mullan (Wasps)
Chris Robshaw (Harlequins)
Kyle Sinckler (Harlequins)
Tommy Taylor (Wasps)
Backs
Mike Brown (Harlequins)
Luther Burrell (Northampton Saints)
Danny Care (Harlequins)
Elliot Daly (Wasps)
Ollie Devoto (Exeter Chiefs)
George Ford (Bath Rugby)
Jonathan Joseph (Bath Rugby)
Manu Tuilagi (Leicester Tigers)
Anthony Watson (Bath Rugby)
Marland Yarde (Harlequins)
Ben Youngs (Leicester Tigers)
