No room for Simmonds brothers in England squad for Six Nations finale
LONDON, ENGLAND - OCTOBER 17: Eddie Jones, Head Coach of England looks on during an England rugby training session at Twickenham Stadium on October 17, 2020 in London, England. (Photo by Matt Dunham - Pool/Getty Images)
England head coach Eddie Jones has named a 36-man squad to face Italy in the final round of the Six Nations, with Exeter Chiefs double-winners Sam Simmonds and Joe Simmonds omitted from inclusion.
Jones has held two training camps in the lead up to their cancelled match with the Barbarians when Exeter competed for Champions Cup and Premiership glory.
And while there is no place for the Simmonds’, there are call ups for Exeter trio Henry Slade, Jonny Hill and Harry Williams.
Four Wasps players are also included after suffering defeat in the Premiership final, losing 19-13 to Rob Baxter’s side.
Joe Launchbury, Dan Robson, Jacob Umaga and Jack Willis are named in the squad to travel to Rome.
Luke Cowan-Dickie, Ali Crossdale, Courtney Lawes, Jack Nowell, Manu Tuilagi and Mark Wilson are unavailable due to injury. Elliot Daly, George Ford and Joe Marler will join up with the squad for reconditioning.
England require a bonus point win over Italy and significant improvement to their points difference to topple Ireland at the Six Nations summit should they beat France in Paris.
A home victory for coach Fabien Galthie and captain Charles Ollivon would require them to at least match England’s result and they rely on points difference, as both nations rest on 13 points in the standings.
Jones said: “We have to put our best foot forward if we want to win the Six Nations. We need to set the tone of the game and we want to put a smile on fans’ faces, a lot of people are enduring hardships and we are grateful for the opportunity to represent England in these difficult times.
“We were obviously disappointed with the postponement of the Barbarians game but we moved to plan B, had a highly competitive training session instead of the match and now we are fully focused on the Italy game and the goal of winning the Six Nations.
“It was a tough squad to pick and I know there are a number of disappointed players that have just missed out. We’ve got a good balance between experience and inexperience.
“With nine players out injured, it does create some opportunities for the younger guys to show what they can do. We’re very happy with what we’ve seen in the mini-camps and the Barbarians’ training week, it’s been really competitive.”
Italy v England is live on ITV 1 and all Autumn Nations Cup games will be live on Amazon Prime.
England squad to travel to Rome to face Italy in the Six Nations
Backs
Joe Cokanasiga (Bath Rugby, 9 caps)
Owen Farrell (Saracens, 83 caps)
George Furbank (Northampton Saints, 2 caps)
Willi Heinz (Gloucester Rugby, 13 caps)
Jonathan Joseph (Bath Rugby, 50 caps)
Ollie Lawrence (Worcester Warriors, uncapped)
Max Malins (Bristol Bears, uncapped)
Joe Marchant (Harlequins, 3 caps)
Jonny May (Gloucester Rugby, 56 caps)
Dan Robson (Wasps, 2 caps)
Henry Slade (Exeter Chiefs, 29 caps)
Ollie Thorley (Gloucester Rugby, uncapped)
Jacob Umaga (Wasps, uncapped)
Anthony Watson (Bath Rugby, 43 caps)
Ben Youngs (Leicester Tigers, 99 caps)
Forwards
Tom Curry (Sale Sharks, 23 caps)
Tom Dunn (Bath Rugby, uncapped)
Ben Earl (Bristol Bears, 3 caps)
Charlie Ewels (Bath Rugby, 15 caps)
Ellis Genge (Leicester Tigers, 18 caps)
Jamie George (Saracens, 49 caps)
Jonny Hill (Exeter Chiefs, uncapped)
Ted Hill (Worcester Warriors, 1 cap)
Maro Itoje (Saracens, 38 caps)
Joe Launchbury (Wasps, 65 caps)
Lewis Ludlam (Northampton Saints, 8 caps)
Beno Obano (Bath Rugby, uncapped)
David Ribbans (Northampton Saints, uncapped)
Jack Singleton (Gloucester Rugby, 3 caps)
Kyle Sinckler (Bristol Bears, 35 caps)
Will Stuart (Bath Rugby, 3 caps)
Sam Underhill (Bath Rugby, 18 caps)
Billy Vunipola (Saracens, 51 caps)
Mako Vunipola (Saracens, 59 caps)
Harry Williams (Exeter Chiefs, 18 caps)
Jack Willis (Wasps, uncapped)
