London Irish starlet Henry Arundell has received his first senior England call-up from Eddie Jones for a three-day training camp.
Uncapped duo Arundell and Will Joseph – the 19-year-old younger brother of England international Jonathan – will start tonight for Irish in the Premiership Rugby Cup Final against Worcester, then head into camp next week.
Arundell, who has scored a string of stunning tries for Irish and the England Under-20s, also qualifies for both Wales and Scotland, so could be in line for a debut on this summer’s tour of Australia and is expected to have a major international future.
Arundell and Joseph are two of 10 uncapped players in the squad, with others including Wasps’ No8 Alfie Barbeary and Leicester scrum-half Jack van Poortvliet.
There is a surprise recall for Saracens prop Mako Vunipola, who has been out of favour since last summer, as well as returns from injury for Owen Farrell, Joe Cokanasiga, Anthony Watson and Tom Willis.
However, a raft of senior players miss out, including Ben Youngs, Jamie George, Henry Slade, Kyle Sinckler and Joe Marler, who are rested.
England’s first assignment of the summer is a fixture against the Barbarians at Twickenham on June 19, the day after the Premiership Final, so a number of senior figures will be unavailable for that contest.
“We’re going to use this camp as an opportunity to prepare a base game for the Barbarians fixture and for a really important Australia tour,” said Jones. “We’ll focus on how we want to play, how we want to be as a team off the field and continue to develop the squad cohesiveness and behaviours.
“It is also 16 months to the World Cup and every minute counts. We want a hard-working and enjoyable environment for the players and to make sure we are all on the same page. We are allowed a squad of 36 players, so it has been a balancing act.
“We want to take a look at some younger players and prepare a base camp for the Barbarians game, particularly as we will be without the Premiership finalists, and also give some senior players a rest as we get to a crucial part of the season. These players will still be in contention for the Australia tour.”
