A contingent of six Northampton Saints players will link up with England this week, as the squad prepare for the Nations Championship in July.
Fresh from lifting the Gallagher PREM trophy for the third time in the Club’s history on Saturday, Alex Coles, Tommy Freeman, George Furbank, Henry Pollock, Alex Mitchell and Fin Smith have all joined England’s 36-man squad.
Freeman – who scored one of Saints’ four tries in their 26-17 victory over Exeter Chiefs – is set to add to his 27 caps as England face South Africa, Fiji and Argentina. He’s joined in England’s backs by club captain Furbank and fellow British & Irish Lion Smith, who’s named as one of three fly-half options after scoring 11 of Northampton’s points in the Final.
Mitchell featured in 70 minutes of Saints’ Final after recovering from a hamstring injury to play his part in Northampton’s title-win, and the scrum-half heads into camp to add to his 30 England caps.
In the forwards, Saints are represented by lock Coles and back rower Pollock – who claimed the Player of the Match medal on Saturday after a stellar outing saw him make some 19 carries and 17 tackles, the most of any Saint.
Ahead of the Nations Championship, Steve Borthwick said: “We’ve selected a squad with a good blend of experience and emerging talent.
“The Nations Championship presents an exciting challenge for this group. We will face strong opposition in demanding environments, with extensive travel, and changes in climate all testing the squad throughout the tournament.
“I am sure by preparing well and continuing to demand the highest standards from one another every day, we will be well placed to meet the challenge of a very demanding summer schedule.”
ENGLAND SQUAD FOR NATIONS CHAMPIONSHIP
FORWARDS:
Ollie Chessum (Leicester Tigers)
Arthur Clark (Gloucester Rugby)
Alex Coles (Northampton Saints)
Luke Cowan-Dickie (Sale Sharks)
Tom Curry (Sale Sharks)
Theo Dan (Saracens)
Ben Earl (Saracens)
Charlie Ewels (Bath Rugby)
Greg Fisilau (Exeter Chiefs)
Ellis Genge (Bristol Bears)
Jamie George (Saracens) – captain
Joe Heyes (Leicester Tigers)
Ted Hill (Bath Rugby)
George Kloska (Bristol Bears)
George Martin (Leicester Tigers)
Beno Obano (Bath Rugby)
Asher Opoku-Fordjour (Sale Sharks)
Guy Pepper (Bath Rugby)
Henry Pollock (Northampton Saints)
Vilikesa Sela (Bath Rugby)
BACKS:
Seb Atkinson (Gloucester Rugby)
Noah Caluori (Saracens)
Immanuel Feyi-Waboso (Exeter Chiefs)
George Ford (Sale Sharks)
Tommy Freeman (Northampton Saints)
George Furbank (Northampton Saints)
Benhard Janse van Rensburg (Bristol Bears)
Alex Mitchell (Northampton Saints)
Cadan Murley (Harlequins)
Max Ojomoh (Bath Rugby)
Henry Slade (Exeter Chiefs)
Fin Smith (Northampton Saints)
Marcus Smith (Harlequins)
Ben Spencer (Bath Rugby)
Freddie Steward (Leicester Tigers)
Jack van Poortvliet (Leicester Tigers)