Eight Sarries in England squad for autumn internationals
Eight Saracens have been named in a 36-man squad for England’s autumn tournament fixtures.
Captain Owen Farrell, Mako Vunipola, Billy Vunipola, Jamie George and Maro Itoje are all involved as are a trio of players out on loan in Jack Singleton, Ben Earl and Max Malins.
Ali Crossdale is unavailable due to injury while Elliot Daly will join up with the squad for reconditioning.
England will play their final match of the rescheduled 2020 Guinness Six Nations against Italy at the Stadio Olimpico in Rome on Saturday 31 October (16H45 GMT KO), knowing a bonus point win could see them lift the trophy.
Five current Saracens and three out on loan are in the England squad for the autumn.
They will then return to begin their Autumn Nations Cup campaign at Twickenham Stadium where they will play three Quilter Internationals. England will play Georgia (Saturday 14 November, 15H00 KO) and Ireland (Saturday 21 November, 15H00 KO).
England will then face Wales away (Saturday 28 November, 16H00 KO) before a placing match at home to determine final position in the competition (Sunday 6 December, 14H00 KO).
Head coach Eddie 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 vs England is live on ITV 1 and all Autumn Nations Cup games will be live on Amazon Prime.
FULL SQUAD
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 (Saracens on loan at 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 (Saracens on loan at 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 (Saracens on loan at 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)
