England Head Coach Eddie Jones has selected a training squad to take part in a New Year training camp which includes Warriors’ Ben Te’o.
Thirty-four players will come together in Brighton on January 1 for a two-day camp as Te’o continues his recovery from an ankle injury, in hope he will be fit for the NatWest 6 Nations against Italy on February 4 in Rome.
Jones said: “This camp in Brighton is important for us to set the tone as a squad ahead of the 6 Nations. We will need to improve if we are to hunt down our opponents and beat them. This tournament will be exciting and challenging, as we know we will play against some very strong teams.
“Brighton will provide a great base to begin our preparations with players coming away with a clear plan for our opening match of the campaign against Italy.”
An England squad for the Six Nations tournament will be announced on Thursday 18 January before the squad departs for a week’s training camp in Portugal three days later. England have won the last two tournaments including the Grand Slam in 2016.
England training squad for Brighton camp:
Backs
Mike Brown (Harlequins)
Danny Care (Harlequins)
Nathan Earle (Saracens)
Owen Farrell (Saracens)
George Ford (Leicester Tigers)
Piers Francis (Northampton Saints)
Jonathan Joseph (Bath Rugby)
Jonny May (Leicester Tigers)
Jack Nowell (Exeter Chiefs)
Henry Slade (Exeter Chiefs)
Marcus Smith (Harlequins) *
Denny Solomona (Sale Sharks)
Ben Te’o (Worcester Warriors)
Anthony Watson (Bath Rugby)
Ben Youngs (Leicester Tigers)
Forwards
Dan Cole (Leicester Tigers)
Tom Dunn (Bath Rugby)
Charlie Ewels (Bath Rugby)
Jamie George (Saracens)
Gary Graham (Newcastle Falcons)
Dylan Hartley (Northampton Saints)
James Haskell (Wasps)
Nick Isiekwe (Saracens)
Maro Itoje (Saracens)
Joe Launchbury (Wasps)
Joe Marler (Harlequins)
Zach Mercer (Bath Rugby) *
Beno Obano (Bath Rugby)
Chris Robshaw (Harlequins)
Sam Simmonds (Exeter Chiefs)
Kyle Sinckler (Harlequins)
Billy Vunipola (Saracens)
Mako Vunipola (Saracens)
Harry Williams (Exeter Chiefs)
*Apprentice players