England head coach Steve Borthwick has named a 33-man training squad ahead of England XV’s clash with France XV in Vannes on Friday – but captain Maro Itoje remains a notable absentee.
Join RUCK’s Instagram broadcast channel and get the latest rugby news straight to your phone.
With players involved in this weekend’s Gallagher PREM Final unavailable for selection, Borthwick has turned to a wider group as preparations begin for a busy summer schedule.
The squad assembled at Pennyhill Park on Monday and will train throughout the week before travelling to France for the uncapped fixture at Stade de la Rabine on Friday 19 June.
Itoje’s continued absence has fuelled speculation that England could rest their captain for all or part of the summer campaign. Borthwick recently revealed there were “ongoing conversations” around the Saracens lock’s workload after an exceptionally demanding year, which included the Six Nations, club commitments and personal challenges away from rugby. England’s coaching staff are understood to be keen to manage his minutes ahead of the 2027 Rugby World Cup.
No replacement captain has yet been confirmed for the France XV fixture, with England expected to make that announcement closer to matchday.
The match serves as England’s final warm-up before the start of the inaugural Nations Championship campaign. Borthwick’s side open their tournament against South Africa in Johannesburg on 4 July before taking on Fiji and Argentina later in the month.
All of England’s summer fixtures will be shown live on ITV Sport.
England training squad
Forwards:
Jamie Blamire (Leicester Tigers)
Ollie Chessum (Leicester Tigers)
Tom Curry (Sale Sharks)
Theo Dan (Saracens)
Alex Dombrandt (Harlequins)
Ben Earl (Saracens)
Charlie Ewels (Bath Rugby)
Jamie George (Saracens)
Joe Heyes (Leicester Tigers)
Ted Hill (Bath Rugby)
Nick Isiekwe (Saracens)
Jack Kenningham (Harlequins)
George Kloska (Bristol Bears)
George Martin (Leicester Tigers)
Beno Obano (Bath Rugby)
Asher Opoku-Fordjour (Sale Sharks)
Vilikesa Sela (Bath Rugby)
Hugh Tizard (Saracens)
Archie van der Flier (Leicester Tigers)
Backs:
Charlie Atkinson (Gloucester Rugby)
Seb Atkinson (Gloucester Rugby)
Noah Caluori (Saracens)
George Ford (Sale Sharks)
Benhard Janse van Rensburg (Bristol Bears)
Cadan Murley (Harlequins)
Max Ojomoh (Bath Rugby)
Raffi Quirke (Sale Sharks)
Adam Radwan (Leicester Tigers)
Harry Randall (Bristol Bears)
Tom Roebuck (Sale Sharks)
Marcus Smith (Harlequins)
Freddie Steward (Leicester Tigers)
Jack van Poortvliet (Leicester Tigers)
Rehabilitation: Arthur Clark (Gloucester Rugby), Luke Cowan-Dickie (Sale Sharks), Ellis Genge (Bristol Bears), Guy Pepper (Bath Rugby).
EDITORS PICKS:
- Five England hopefuls who FLOPPED in the PREM semi-finals
- Richie McCaw’s incredible 27kg body transformation after quitting rugby
- FIFA’s New Five-Second Countdown Shows Rugby Still Has a Time Problem
- Sam Underhill could play for USA at Rugby World Cup
- Jonah Lomu’s teenage son declared for Six Nations team, snubs All Blacks
Name the top 10 top-scorers in rugby history:
Scoring points at Test level is one of rugby’s toughest challenges. It takes consistency, longevity and the ability to deliver under pressure against the very best teams in the world.
From legendary fly-halves with metronomic boots to all-time greats who dominated international rugby for more than a decade, these players have piled up points on the sport’s biggest stages.
You have three minutes to name the top 10 highest points scorers in men’s international rugby union history. How many can you get?
