Eddie Jones has announced a provisional 45-man elite player squad (EPS) for England‘s pre-season training camp in August.
The squad will meet at the Lensbury Hotel in Teddington from 6-8 August ahead of their autumn internationals against South Africa, Fiji, Argentina and Australia in November.
Leicester’s Mike Williams and Wasps No.8 Nathan Hughes, who qualify on residency grounds since the end of June, are included for the first time.
Following their series win in South Africa with England Saxons, Dan Robson, Mike Haley and Charlie Ewels will join the camp, as will Joe Marchant and Will Evans, who were part of the England team who won the U20s World Championship in June.
England will announce a final 45-man EPS on 30 September.
“This camp sets the scene for November,” said England head coach Jones. “It’s important to catch-up with the players prior to the start of the season and continue to put our plans in place.
“We’ll use this time to reset and review each player’s goals so they’re clear on what is expected of them between now and when we meet up again in October. It also gives us an opportunity to meet and assess some new players and ensure they are familiar with the England setup.
“The long-term strategy for England is to develop a side who can be the most dominant team in world rugby, so we’ve chosen a number of new faces to attend this camp on the form they have shown recently or the potential we see in them.
“There will always be opportunities for anyone playing consistently well in the Premiership at the start of the season to force their way into the EPS – the door is always open. Naturally players not included in this pre-season camp will be disappointed, but consistent high-level performances can change this.
“Our next game presents us with a huge challenge. England has not beaten South Africa since 2006 and we’ve lost our last five games against the Springboks at Twickenham. Not a single player who will attend the pre-season camp has played in a side that has ever beaten South Africa.
“While we acknowledge that we’re moving in the right direction we also recognise that defeat is never far away. It’s important the players all keep trying to improve and push themselves to reach new standards in their game. We cannot afford to have any complacency in our approach to this Test.”
England training squad
Forwards: Josh Beaumont, Dan Cole, Luke Cowan-Dickie, Jack Clifford, Will Evans, Charlie Ewels, Jamie George, Ellis Genge, Teimana Harrison, Dylan Hartley, James Haskell, Paul Hill, Nathan Hughes, Maro Itoje, George Kruis, Joe Launchbury, Courtney Lawes, Joe Marler, Matt Mullan, Chris Robshaw, Kyle Sinckler, Billy Vunipola, Mako Vunipola, Mike Williams, Tom Youngs
Backs: Mike Brown, Danny Care, Elliott Daly, Owen Farrell, George Ford, Alex Goode, Mike Haley, Jonathan Joseph, Joe Marchant, Jonny May, Jack Nowell, Dan Robson, Semesa Rokoduguni, Joe Simpson, Slade, Ben Te’o, Manu Tuilagi, Anthony Watson, Marland Yarde, Ben Youngs