Henry Slade is the latest player to be kicked out Opening of the six nations of England at Twickenham on Saturday
Slade has withdrawn from the 36-man squad, named by head coach Steve Borthwick, due to a hip injury sustained in Exeter’s Champions Cup game against Castres.
Anthony Watson, who put in an impressive display for Leicester in the loss to Northampton Saints on their return from injury on Saturday, takes Slade’s place. Watson’s last England cap came at the 2021 Six Nations, and he will cover the bottom three.
Slade had been absent from full-back training and leaves Manu Tuilagi, Ollie Lawrence and Joe Marchant in contention for the away center shirt.
Saracens hooker Jamie George has been named to the squad but is not yet certain to play as he is set to continue his return to play protocols this week after suffering a concussion in Saracens’ loss to Edinburgh on January 22.
With Luke Cowan-Dickie already ruled out, Bath’s Tom Dunn or Harlequins’ Jack Walker would be in line to start if George does not recover in time.
Jamie Blamire drops out of the team altogether to mitigate George’s return.
Courtney Lawes, another certain starter to face the Scots, was also left out of the squad after failing to recover in time from a calf injury sustained in Northampton’s loss to La Rochelle two weeks ago – only his third start of the season. He will continue his rehabilitation alongside the team with Slade.
The presence of Lawes, named vice-captain along with Ellis Genge, would have been critical for Borthwick given he is already without Tom Curry in the back row.
Apart from George and Watson’s call-ups, Borthwick have selected the same group of players who trained at Pennyhill Park last week.
Who is in England’s Six Nations squad?
Attackers
Ollie Chessum (Leicester Tigers, 5 caps)
Dan Cole (Leicester Tigers, 95 caps)
Ben Curry (Sale Sharks, 1 selection)
Alex Dombrandt (Harlequins, 9 selections)
Tom Dunn (Bath, 3 capsules)
Ben Earl (Saracens, 13 caps)
Ellis Genge (Bristol Bears, 43 caps)
Jamie George (Saracens, 72 caps)
Joe Heyes (Leicester Tigers, 7 caps)
Jonny Hill (Sale Sharks, 19 caps)
Nick Isiekwe (Saracens, 8 selections)
Maro Itoje (Saracens, 62 selections)
Lewis Ludlam (Northampton Saints, 14 caps)
Dave Ribbans (Northampton Saints, 4 caps)
Bevan Rodd (Sale Sharks, 2 caps)
Sam Simmonds (Exeter Chiefs, 18 caps)
Kyle Sinckler (Bristol Bears, 56 caps)
Marko Vunipola (Saracens, 74 caps)
Jack Walker (Harlequins, uncapped)
Jack Willis (Toulouse, 6 selections)
Back
Owen Farrell (Saracens, 101 caps)
Tommy Freeman (Northampton Saints, 3 caps)
Ollie Hassell-Collins (London Irish, uncapped)
Dan Kelly (Leicester Tigers, 1 cap)
Ollie Lawrence (Bath, 6 capsules)
Max Malins (Saracens, 14 selections)
Joe Marchant (Harlequins, 13 selections)
Alex Mitchell (Northampton Saints, 1 cap)
Cadan Murley (Harlequins, uncapped)
Fin Smith (Northampton Saints, uncapped)
Marcus Smith (Harlequins, 17 selections)
Freddie Steward (Leicester Tigers, 17 caps)
Manu Tuilagi (Sale Sharks, 50 caps)
Jack van Poortvliet (Leicester Tigers, 7 caps)
Anthony Watson (Leicester Tigers, 51 caps)
Ben Youngs (Leicester Tigers, 121 caps)
Who passed by?
The main omissions of the Borthwick team are Jack Nowell, Jonny May and Billy Vunipola – all of whom played significant roles in England squads during Eddie Jones’ tenure.
Their respective non-selection offers the clearest indication to date of the departure of the new regime from the oldas Borthwick seeks new talent who have shown top form for their clubs.
Other notable names to omit include Alex Coles, Hugh Tizzard, Val Rapava Ruskin, Joe Cokanasiga and George Furbank.
Who is injured?
As always, Borthwick was forced to rule out some names due to injuries.
Likely starting flanker Tom Curry and Luke Cowan-Dickie are both injured, with the latter ruled out of the tournament.
Courtney Lawes continues to manage her rehab alongside the team, with Henry Slade doing the same. Both will miss the first round against Scotland.
Hooker is a problematic position for Borthwick with George McGuigan and Jack Singleton joining Cowan-Dickie on the injured list. Jamie George is in contention to play in the Calcutta Cup but is still under concussion protocols. The Tighthead Will Stuart accessory is also unavailable.
George Ford is yet to feature for his new side Sale but is expected to return to action soon while, in more positive news, London Irish flier Henry Arundell and scrum-half Raffi Quirke have already done so.
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