England plan for NZ four months early

 

Fifty-five players have assembled at Loughborough University for their summer training camp.

 

England Head Coach Stuart Lancaster said: “This camp will give us a chance to get the wider squad together and an opportunity to review the New Zealand tour.

 

“It will be an important few days for us in terms of complementing the work that the clubs have been doing in pre-season with their strength and conditioning but also from a rugby point of view.

 

"The next time we meet will be two weeks before we play New Zealand in the End of Year Internationals so this time together is vital.

 

“In collaboration with Premiership Rugby we have been given the flexibility to announce the England Senior and Saxons squads in October, much closer to our four international matches in November.

 

"We appreciate their support of our proposal which enables time to assess the first part of the club season and therefore select players who are in form leading into an important series for us.

 

"It also allows an opportunity for players not involved in the training camp this week to put down a marker in terms of their performances ahead of the squad announcement.”

 

A senior squad consisting of 33 players and a 32-man Saxons squad will be announced in October.  

 

England training squad: Alex Corbisiero, Joe Marler, Matt Mullan, Mako Vunipola, Kieran Brookes, Henry Thomas, David Wilson, Luke Cowan-Dickie, Dylan Hartley, Rob Webber, Tom Youngs, Dave Attwood, Joe Launchbury, Courtney Lawes, Geoff Parling, Ed Slater, Calum Clark, Tom Croft, Will Fraser, James Haskell, Tom Johnson, Matt Kvesic, Ben Morgan, Chris Robshaw, Billy Vunipola, Tom Wood, Jackson Wray, Danny Care, Lee Dickson, Richard Wigglesworth, Ben Youngs, Freddie Burns, Danny Cipriani, Owen Farrell, George Ford, Stephen Myler, Henry Slade, Anthony Allen, Brad Barritt, Luther Burrell, Kyle Eastmond, Jonathan Joseph, Henry Trinder, Manusamoa Tuilagi, Billy Twelvetrees, Chris Ashton, Mike Brown, Ben Foden, Alex Goode, Jonny May, Jack Nowell, Chris Pennell, Marland Yarde, Christian Wade, Anthony Watson.

 

The following players will not join the training squad this week due to injury: Dan Cole, Sam Dickinson, Ollie Devoto.