More questions emerge over Maro Itoje as Bok clash looms
SQUAD ANNOUNCEMENT: England head coach Steve Borthwick has named a 26-player squad for a three-day training camp.
It is in preparation for the England XV v France XV match on Friday, June 19 at Stade de la Rabine in Vannes, and ahead of the inaugural Nations Championship.
The squad, which does not include players involved in the PREM play-offs, assembles on Tuesday and will train at England’s Performance Centre at Pennyhill Park until Thursday.
England begin their Nations Championship campaign against South Africa in Johannesburg on Saturday, July 4, followed by matches against Fiji and Argentina.
The big name missing from the latest squad list is captain Maro Itoje. Several of his Saracens teammates were included in Tuesday’s squad after they failed to qualify for the PREM semifinals.
His omission adds to the uncertainty over his involvement in the Nations Championship.
In May, Borthwick said he was considering resting Itoje for all, or part, of the July series.
Meanwhile, this latest group includes South African-born centre Benhard Janse van Rensburg once again.
It’s his second call-up after he was involved in an England camp last month.
The 29-year-old has been a star for Bristol Bears since he joined the team from London Irish in 2023.
He will become eligible to represent England on July 8.
Janse van Rensburg is set to be unavailable for England’s opening tour match against South Africa on July 4 due to the eligibility timelines, but he would qualify for subsequent fixtures against Fiji and Argentina.
England training squad:
Forwards:
Arthur Clark (Gloucester Rugby)
Tom Curry (Sale Sharks)
Theo Dan (Saracens)
Alex Dombrandt (Harlequins)
Ben Earl (Saracens)
Afolabi Fasogbon (Gloucester Rugby)
Jamie George (Saracens)
Will Hobson (Harlequins)
Nick Isiekwe (Saracens)
Nathan Jibulu (Sale Sharks)
Jack Kenningham (Harlequins)
George Kloska (Bristol Bears)
Asher Opoku-Fordjour (Sale Sharks)
Hugh Tizard (Saracens)
Backs:
Charlie Atkinson (Gloucester Rugby)
Seb Atkinson (Gloucester Rugby)
Noah Caluori (Saracens)
Tobias Elliott (Saracens)
George Ford (Sale Sharks)
Benhard Janse van Rensburg (Bristol Bears)
Cadan Murley (Harlequins)
Raffi Quirke (Sale Sharks)
Harry Randall (Bristol Bears)
Ben Redshaw (Gloucester Rugby)
Tom Roebuck (Sale Sharks)
Marcus Smith (Harlequins)
Rehabilitation: Luke Cowan-Dickie (Sale Sharks), Immanuel Feyi-Waboso (Exeter Chiefs), Ellis Genge (Bristol Bears).
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