The chances of Maro Itoje touring with England this summer continue to diminish after the national captain was left out of Steve Borthwick’s latest June training squad. It is understood England would ideally like to give Itoje a rest barring a sudden rush of injuries affecting the number of other second row candidates available to Borthwick.
Despite his club, Saracens, having failed to make the Prem playoffs, Itoje is not among the 26 players gathered in Bagshot to prepare for a fixture between an England XV and a France XV in Vannes on Friday week. Other senior players, including Jamie George, Ben Earl and Tom Curry, are involved, however, alongside uncapped hopefuls such as Gloucester’s Afolabi Fasogbon and Ben Redshaw and the Bristol centre Benhard Janse van Rensburg.
