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Daly absent as England name 32-strong squad for next Sunday's Barbarians game
Elliot Daly has been omitted from the 32-strong England squad for next Sunday’s game with the Barbarians but Piers Francis is back having recovered from coronavirus. No reason was given by the Rugby Football Union for Daly’s absence, with head coach Eddie Jones set to give an update on the Saracens centre at lunchtime on Tuesday.
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However, he is unfit to train this week and will play no part in the curtain-raiser to England’s autumn schedule. Francis was picked in Jones’ first squad since the Six Nations earlier this month but was forced to withdraw and self-isolate after testing positive for Covid-19 as a result of playing Sale on September 29.
Tom de Glanville’s hopes of making his England debut in the non-cap international at Twickenham have been dashed following his omission from the 32 who will gather at their training base in south-west London for the first game for Jones’ side since March.
Jones said: “This is an important game for us and we’re looking forward to getting back to Twickenham and playing rugby. We’ve had two really good camps, going back to basics and how we want to play. The Barbarians squad has a rich blend of talent, so this week we’ll be testing ourselves under pressure and looking to take our game to the next level.”
Joe Marler (Harlequins) will also join up with the squad for reconditioning. Following the Quilter Cup, which is an uncapped fixture, England will travel to Rome to face Italy in the final round of the delayed 2020 Guinness Six Nations on October 31.
"The environment couldn’t be better set-up to avoid spread. Let’s hope it works out. Please God, we’ll get lucky"
– @IanCostello1 tells @heagneyl why virus outbreak is just another little challenge in the incredible @WaspsRugby @premrugby campaign ????https://t.co/wbPUbKQRiV
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) October 18, 2020
England will then play four matches as part of the Autumn Nations Cup, returning to Twickenham Stadium for Quilter Internationals against Georgia (November 14) and Ireland (November 21).
They will then face Wales away (November 28 ) before a placing match at home to determine a final position in the competition (December 6). Jones recently named 28 and 26-man squads for two three-day camps in the build-up to the autumn programme
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ENGLAND SQUAD (v Barbarians)
Backs: A Crossdale (Saracens), F Dingwall (Northampton Saints), O Farrell (Saracens), G Ford (Leicester Tigers), P Francis (Northampton Saints), G Furbank (Northampton Saints), W Heinz (Gloucester Rugby), J Joseph (Bath Rugby), O Lawrence (Worcester Warriors), J Marchant (Harlequins), J May (Gloucester Rugby), A Mitchell (Northampton Saints), O Thorley (Gloucester Rugby), A Watson (Bath Rugby), B Youngs (Leicester Tigers).
Forwards: T Curry (Sale Sharks), A Dombrandt (Harlequins), T Dunn (Bath Rugby), C Ewels (Bath Rugby), E Genge (Leicester Tigers), J George (Saracens), J Heyes (Leicester Tigers), T Hill (Worcester Warriors), M Itoje (Saracens), A Moon (Northampton Saints), B Obano (Bath Rugby), D Ribbans (Northampton Saints), W Stuart (Bath Rugby), S Underhill (Bath Rugby), B Vunipola (Saracens), M Vunipola (Saracens), M Wilson (Newcastle Falcons).
EXCLUSIVE: Ben Foden tells @chrisjonespress that he predicts an influx of English players making the move to Major League Rugby.
'They would love the opportunity to finish their careers in the USA' ??https://t.co/Rmch3WekUU
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) October 19, 2020
Comments on RugbyPass
Just what the Sharks needed to get things going in the right direction Defence on the outside really creates havoc for the whole team and needs to be addressed.
7 Go to commentsWell done guys both teams will be ready to play knockout rugby.
1 Go to commentsSurprised that Ramos isn't starting at 15. But what a squad of galacticos!
2 Go to commentsWhy is it a snub? What journalistic garbage is that? Sure the guy is a great player, but there are plenty of loose forwards and not all of them can be Springboks. Also, I know of no-one who doubts Rassie’s judgment. South Africa has a conveyor belt of loose forwards that just keeps producing, so the competition is intense. I certainly wish him well, but there is no entitlement and there is no snub.
17 Go to commentsSkelton may be brought back for the Wallabies so that would be the only reason that may hinder Wilson. Easily the form, most skilful and game IQ of any Oz 8. Valentini’s best and favourite position is 6, but lineouts may be an issue with Skelton, Valentini and Wilson. Will be interesting what Schmidt goes for but for me Wilson should be picked on form. Schmidt rewards work rate, skill and consistency. All that glitters every so often won’t be in contention. Greely is one of those players that has a knack of making the right decision. A coach is going to love him because he knows week in week out he’s going to get the job done. The second try Greely wasn’t the guy who made the initial break it was Flook, Greely was at the bottom of the ruck when Flook was off along the sideline. Greely got up and made the effort to catch up with play but also read the play nicely and hit the pass from Campbell at pace and then held the pass beautifully to Ryan.
6 Go to commentsSpot on Ben. Dead right. Havili looked great at 10. Easily the highest rugby IQ of any NZ player these days. Getting a kick charged down is a result of getting used to adjusting your depth to the line at 10, which he will sort out with time. But other than that it was an outstanding first effort in that position this year. I think the NZ media has misunderstood this directive from Razor. Havili might rank behind B Barrett this year, but Beuden is 33 this month and won't last much longer. DMaC is great but flaky and not really a test match animal (his efforts in Dunedin versus Aus last year for example). If Razor can't have Mounga, DMaC is too unstructured for Razor (and is just too small for test rugby). Havili will end up our first choice first five, and in partnership with Jodie will be excellent. Two triple threat operators in tandem, and big bodies and tough tacklers to boot. Jordoe will be the ABs goal kicker. I am an Aucklander and Blues (and Warriors) fan, but Havili at 10 is going to be sensational in time… he can be the best first five in the world by the end of this year. No question.
6 Go to commentsSharks deserved to be far further back by the last quarter. Their tackling was awful, their set pieces were disappointing, their defensive organization was poor (especially on the Kok side of the D line), they kept making unnecessary errors, and they never looked like cracking the Clermont defense during those first 60m. Masuku kept them in touch, with some help from the Clermont generosity on penalty opportunities. Agree with the writer of this article. It was belligerence, and ability to raise their pressure game just enough, that turned the last quarter into a Bok-style shutout. Clermont have a reputation of not playing the full 80m, and there was a bit of that for sure. But, quite often when the intensity of a team drops off in the last quarter credit is due to the opponent for tiring them out. At 60m, with the Kok try, you thought that just maybe the game was on. At 70m, with the Mapimpi contribution, one felt that Clermont were fading, while facing a team that would maintain the pressure game through the final whistle. Good win in the end, but the Sharks are still playing way below their potential. And with their resources, and a coach that has had enough time to figure things out, they are running out of excuses.
7 Go to commentsGood riddance
1 Go to commentswel the crusaders were beaten by a queensland reds side that hadnt beaten them at home since 1999 and queensland reds partied like it was 1999
6 Go to commentsHard to disagree with the 5 points - with the exception that Wilson should be a squad member but, depending on the other loose forward selections, is not yet a shoo-in. McReight is. Aussie is looking a lot better this year and JS has some selection options. Also, Havili’s tendency to get caught, charged down is also a liability at times but he seemed focused (mostly) and is definitely a consideration for utility back-up. Still feel Reihana is a better prospect at 1st five for Saders.
6 Go to commentsYeah nah, still not sure on Havili tbh. Even though I’m a Crusaders fan through and through I’d be stunned if Razor considers him after seeing some of the stunning talent coming through up North.
6 Go to commentsThink it was a great defensive performance by Northampton. They didn't have stage fright in the first half, the Nienaber defense smothered them. They limited Leinster to 15-3 in the first half. It could have been over by then. A great try from Leinster in the start of the second half looked to have sealed it. But Byrne missed another conversion. Northampton started trying little kicks behind the Leinster wingers. Leinster messed one and Smith brilliantly made the conversion. Leinster decided to tighten the game after Byrne missed a straight forward penalty. A few errors got NH into the 22 and they scored and converted with a few minutes left. Another brilliant steal from Lawes saw NH have a final attack which was turned over by Conan. A classic semi final. World record attendance of 82,300. Leinsters 3 week preparation warranted for this one.
1 Go to commentsJust came back from the game and the atmosphere was amazing. Players stayed afterwards for more than a hour to sign stuff and take photos with fans. Great day out.
7 Go to commentsA great game. The Sharks without Etsebeth are a shadow of the team compared to when he plays. The limitations of Some of the expensive Sharks players are being exposed. Credit to Clermont for some exhilaration play at times.
7 Go to comments100% Mr Owens. But who would want to be a referee.? It must be the most difficult job on earth.
1 Go to commentsStarts to be overdone and oversold this systematic SA narrative…which nevertheless has the merit in this case to recognise blatant refereeing mistakes in their favor
7 Go to commentsNice article. Shades of Steinbeck. They can win the final if they take the game seriously; but only if they take it seriously.
7 Go to commentsWhat a sad way to end a glittering career. Somebody should tell him to delete his social media accounts and face the consequences of what he's done. Then he should slip away quietly into obscurity. This isn't likely to happen, something tells me he'll be back in The Sun / Daily Mail sooner rather than later.
5 Go to commentsguys its fine! he understands why he did what he did and has taken accountability for it; why should he have to be accountable to a court? after all he did was abuse people in person - its not as if he was engaging in _online_ abuse!
5 Go to commentsChiefs flanker Kaylum Boshier yellow-carded for collapsing the scrum as it rolled towards the line. It was a maul….
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