Eddie Jones has urged his England team to be bold at the 2017 RBS 6 Nations after announcing both a 33-man training camp and a revised 45-man Elite Player Squad with the February opener against France in mind.
There is positive news on the injury front for Jones as regulars James Haskell, Maro Itoje, Anthony Watson and Jack Nowell – who all took no part in the autumn internationals – are included in both squads.
With the 2017 British & Irish Lions Tour firmly in sight, now is the time for players to impress.
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And Leicester centre and 2013 Lion Manu Tuilagi, who will be aiming for his first England start since June 2014 next year, also makes a return.
Bath loosehead Nathan Catt, Leicester flanker Mike Williams, Sale lock Josh Beaumont and Saracens fly-half Alex Lozowski are the uncapped players who make the cut for next week’s training camp in Brighton.
England will attempt to set their new best Test winning streak against France with a 15th victory in a row, but Jones is wary of the threat Les Bleus will pose.
“This short two-day camp in Brighton allows us to do some of the organisational work we need to do for the Six Nations,” said the Australian, whose final RBS 6 Nations squad will be announced on January 20.
? BREAKING: 33-man squad for two-day training camp announced to prepare for RBS 6 Nations.
Find out who, here ?? https://t.co/I2nSKo420P pic.twitter.com/ZQizBN5rGe
— England Rugby (@EnglandRugby) December 31, 2016
“We have France first-up who are one of the most improved sides in Europe. They should have beaten Australia and could have beaten the All Blacks in November, so they’ll come into the Six Nations with a lot of confidence.
“We’ve got to make sure that we use this training camp to get an understanding of how we’re going to beat France. We want to see a good attitude from the players and, as always, we’re looking for players who are desperate to play for England.
“The thing the struck me about last year’s Six Nations is that sides were scared to lose and we want to make sure in this Six Nations, right from the word go, that we’re daring and we have the courage to play our game.”
33 players attending Brighton training camp from 2-3 January:
Forwards
Josh Beaumont (Sale Sharks)
Nathan Catt (Bath Rugby)
Dan Cole (Leicester Tigers)
Charlie Ewels (Bath Rugby)
Jamie George (Saracens)
Teimana Harrison (Northampton Saints) *injury replacement for Sam Jones (Wasps)
Dylan Hartley (Northampton Saints)
James Haskell (Wasps)
Nathan Hughes (Wasps)
Maro Itoje (Saracens)
George Kruis (Saracens)
Courtney Lawes (Northampton Saints)
Joe Marler (Harlequins)
Matt Mullan (Wasps)
Chris Robshaw (Harlequins)
Kyle Sinckler (Harlequins)
Tommy Taylor (Wasps)
Mike Williams (Leicester Tigers)
Tom Wood (Northampton Saints)
Backs
Mike Brown (Harlequins)
Danny Care (Harlequins)
Elliot Daly (Wasps)
Owen Farrell (Saracens)
George Ford (Bath Rugby)
Jonathan Joseph (Bath Rugby)
Alex Lozowski (Saracens)
Jonny May (Gloucester Rugby)
Jack Nowell (Exeter Chiefs)
Ben Te’o (Worcester Warriors)
Manu Tuilagi (Leicester Tigers)
Anthony Watson (Bath Rugby)
Marland Yarde (Harlequins)
Ben Youngs (Leicester Tigers)
45-man elite player squad:
Forwards
Josh Beaumont (Sale Sharks)
Nathan Catt (Bath Rugby)
Jack Clifford (Harlequins)
Dan Cole (Leicester Tigers)
Luke Cowan-Dickie (Exeter Chiefs)
Charlie Ewels (Bath Rugby)
Jamie George (Saracens)
Dylan Hartley (Northampton Saints)
James Haskell (Wasps)
Paul Hill (Northampton Saints)
Nathan Hughes (Wasps)
Maro Itoje (Saracens)
Sam Jones (Wasps)
George Kruis (Saracens)
Joe Launchbury (Wasps)
Courtney Lawes (Northampton Saints)
Joe Marler (Harlequins)
Matt Mullan (Wasps)
Chris Robshaw (Harlequins)
Kyle Sinckler (Harlequins)
Tommy Taylor (Wasps)
Billy Vunipola (Saracens)
Mako Vunipola (Saracens)
Mike Williams (Leicester Tigers)
Tom Wood (Northampton Saints)
Backs
Mike Brown (Harlequins)
Danny Care (Harlequins)
Elliot Daly (Wasps)
Owen Farrell (Saracens)
George Ford (Bath Rugby)
Mike Haley (Sale Sharks)
Jonathan Joseph (Bath Rugby)
Alex Lozowski (Saracens)
Joe Marchant (Harlequins)
Jonny May (Gloucester Rugby)
Jack Nowell (Exeter Chiefs)
Dan Robson (Wasps)
Semesa Rokoduguni (Bath Rugby)
Henry Slade (Exeter Chiefs)
Ben Spencer (Saracens)
Ben Te’o (Worcester Warriors)
Manu Tuilagi (Leicester Tigers)
Anthony Watson (Bath Rugby)
Marland Yarde (Harlequins)
Ben Youngs (Leicester Tigers)
