Northampton Saints’ forward Courtney Lawes has been selected by England head coach Eddie Jones for the upcoming Six Nations campaign.
The versatile 31-year-old could hit the 90-cap mark for his country if he plays all five matches in what will be his 11th Six Nations Championship.
England will retain a 28-player squad throughout the tournament, following an agreement with Premiership Rugby, The RPA and The RFU in recognition of the challenges presented by COVID-19.
The squad will meet up at St. George’s Park, England football’s training base, on Wednesday 27 January. They will then move to their base, The Lensbury in Teddington, ahead of their first game against Scotland at Twickenham Stadium on Saturday 6 February.
Jones has also named a 12-player shadow squad, who will be part of the same testing protocols as the tournament squad, which includes Lawes’ fellow Saints George Furbank and Alex Mitchell.
Jones said: “This has been a really tough squad to pick and I know there are a lot of disappointed players who haven’t been selected. We’re really excited by the players we have got, it’s a very vibrant squad and are looking forward to getting started next week.
“We’re very grateful to the Premiership Rugby, the clubs and RPA for allowing us to have 28 players throughout the tournament, we’re very happy with the number and it’s testament to the growing relationships between all parties.
“Ultimately our goal is to win the Six Nations and to do that we’ll need to work hard and prepare well each day and take it as it comes.”
England squad for 2021 Six Nations
BACKS
Elliot Daly (Saracens, 47 caps)
Owen Farrell (Saracens, 88 caps)
George Ford (Leicester Tigers, 72 caps)
Ollie Lawrence (Worcester Warriors, 3 caps)
Max Malins (Bristol Bears, 3 caps)
Jonny May (Gloucester Rugby, 61 caps)
Paolo Odogwu (Wasps, uncapped)
Harry Randall (Bristol Bears, uncapped)
Dan Robson (Wasps, 7 caps)
Henry Slade (Exeter Chiefs, 34 caps)
Anthony Watson (Bath Rugby, 46 caps)
Ben Youngs (Leicester Tigers, 104 caps)
FORWARDS
Luke Cowan-Dickie (Exeter Chiefs, 26 caps)
Tom Curry (Sale Sharks, 28 caps)
Ben Earl (Bristol Bears, 8 caps)
Ellis Genge (Leicester Tigers, 23 caps)
Jamie George (Saracens, 54 caps)
Jonny Hill (Exeter Chiefs, 3 caps)
Maro Itoje (Saracens, 43 caps)
Joe Launchbury (Wasps, 69 caps)
Courtney Lawes (Northampton Saints, 85 caps)
Joe Marler (Harlequins, 72 caps)
Beno Obano (Bath Rugby, uncapped)
Will Stuart (Bath Rugby, 8 caps)
Sam Underhill (Bath Rugby, 22 caps)
Billy Vunipola (Saracens, 56 caps)
Harry Williams (Exeter Chiefs, 18 caps)
Mark Wilson (Newcastle Falcons, 19 caps)
SHADOW SQUAD
Charlie Atkinson (Wasps, uncapped)
Ali Crossdale (Saracens, uncapped)
Tom Dunn (Bath Rugby, 3 caps)
Charlie Ewels (Bath Rugby, 17 caps)
George Furbank (Northampton Saints, 3 caps)
Joe Heyes (Leicester Tigers, uncapped)
Jonathan Joseph (Bath Rugby, 54 caps)
Joe Marchant (Harlequins, 4 caps)
George Martin (Leicester Tigers, uncapped)
Alex Mitchell (Northampton Saints, uncapped)
Jacob Umaga (Wasps, uncapped)
Jack Willis (Wasps, 2 caps)
