England up for BaaBaas bash
England have drafted in four more players for their Killik Cup clash with the Barbarians at Twickenham before the team leaves for the tour of South Africa.
Gloucester’s Freddie Burns, Jamie Gibson of London Irish, Haydn Thomas of Exeter Chiefs and Saracens’ Richard Wigglesworth are added to the squad for this game, with the players from Aviva Premiership finalists Leicester and Harlequins unavailable.
England Head Coach Stuart Lancaster said: “This match has become an established fixture in the season and is hugely important for us ahead of the tour. We are holding a short conditioning camp this week for those players whose season finished on the May 5 and already there is a real buzz about this Barbarians match and what lies ahead after that.
“We will obviously be without the Leicester and Harlequins players – and best of luck to both those teams in the Premiership final – but this is a great opportunity for the rest of the squad, as well as Freddie, Jamie, Richard and Haydn, to put a marker down before we leave for the tour.
“We are looking forward to going back to Twickenham and if the fantastic support that we got against Wales and Ireland is repeated it will be a great occasion.’
Squad:
Forwards: Mouritz Botha, Alex Corbisiero, Paul Doran Jones, Phil Dowson, Carl Fearns, Jamie Gibson, Dylan Hartley, Tom Johnson, Joe Launchbury, Lee Mears, Ben Morgan, Matt Mullan, Tom Palmer, Matt Stevens.
Backs: Chris Ashton, Brad Barritt, Freddie Burns, Lee Dickson, Owen Farrell, Ben Foden, Alex Goode, Charlie Hodgson, Jonathan Joseph, David Strettle, Haydn Thomas, Christian Wade, Richard Wigglesworth.