Greg Fisilau among 3 new England call-ups as PREM star misses out

Greg Fisilau has been rewarded for his outstanding form with Exeter with a place in England’s 36-player Six Nations squad.

The 22-year-old is joined by two more uncapped former England U20 forwards, prop duo Vilikesa Sela and Emmanuel Iyogun.

Sela steps up to replace his Bath team-mate, Will Stuart, who is among a long list of players unavailable through injury, while Iyogun is preferred to another Bath player, Beno Obano.

In total, 11 players have been named who were not in the 2025 Quilter Nations Series squad, including recalls for full-backs Freddie Steward, George Furbank and utility back Elliot Daly, suggesting Marcus Smith will mainly be deployed as a 10, or as bench cover.

Arthur Clark, Trevor Davison, Bevan Rodd, Seb Atkinson and Jack van Poortvliet have also been brought back into the fold.

Ten players have been cut, mostly through injury, including Bath centre Ollie Lawrence, who has been left out of tonight’s league game vs Gloucester, but is expected to be fit in time for England’s Six Nations opener at home to Wales on February 7th. Meanwhile, Saracens star Noah Caluori misses out.

Bath boss Johann van Graan said on the club’s media call this week: “He’s (Lawrence) got a bit of swelling on his knee. It’s nothing major. Obviously, Ollie is a very important player to us and England. It’s definitely not something long-term, but yeah, he wasn’t available for the weekend.”

Maro Itoje has been named captain of the squad, which comprises 20 forwards and 16 backs. The group will gather at the England Rugby Performance Centre, Pennyhill Park, on Tuesday 27 January for a day’s training before travelling to Girona to continue preparations.

“We’ve picked a squad with a good balance of experience, leadership and exciting potential,” said Borthwick.

“The margins in the Guinness Six Nations are incredibly fine so our aim over the coming days is to come together quickly, prepare thoroughly, and make sure we’re ready to perform.

“If we prepare well and keep demanding the highest levels from one another, it puts us in the strongest possible position when the Championship begins.”

Following the clash with Wales, England will face Scotland at Murrayfield Stadium on Saturday 14 February, before taking on Ireland at Allianz Stadium on Saturday 21 February.

England then travel to Rome to face Italy on Saturday 7 March, with their final match of the Championship taking place in Paris against France on Saturday 14 March.

England’s 36-player training squad:

Forwards:
Ollie Chessum (Leicester Tigers, 30 caps)
Arthur Clark (Gloucester Rugby, 1 cap)
Alex Coles (Northampton Saints, 14 caps)
Luke Cowan-Dickie (Sale Sharks, 53 caps)
Chandler Cunningham-South (Harlequins, 20 caps)
Tom Curry (Sale Sharks, 65 caps)
Theo Dan (Saracens, 20 caps)
Trevor Davison (Northampton Saints, 3 caps)
Ben Earl (Saracens, 46 caps)
Greg Fisilau (Exeter Chiefs, uncapped)
Ellis Genge (Bristol Bears, 75 caps)
Jamie George (Saracens, 105 caps)
Joe Heyes (Leicester Tigers, 17 caps)
Maro Itoje (Saracens, 97 caps) – captain
Emmanuel Iyogun (Northampton Saints, uncapped)
Guy Pepper (Bath Rugby, 7 caps)
Henry Pollock (Northampton Saints, 5 caps)
Bevan Rodd (Sale Sharks, 10 caps)
Vilikesa Sela (Bath Rugby, uncapped)
Sam Underhill (Bath Rugby, 45 caps)

Backs:
Henry Arundell (Bath Rugby, 11 caps)
Seb Atkinson (Gloucester Rugby, 2 caps)
Elliot Daly (Saracens, 74 caps)
Fraser Dingwall (Northampton Saints, 7 caps)
Immanuel Feyi-Waboso (Exeter Chiefs, 13 caps)
George Ford (Sale Sharks, 105 caps)
Tommy Freeman (Northampton Saints, 22 caps)
George Furbank (Northampton Saints, 14 caps)
Alex Mitchell (Northampton Saints, 27 caps)
Cadan Murley (Harlequins, 4 caps)
Max Ojomoh (Bath Rugby, 2 caps)
Henry Slade (Exeter Chiefs, 74 caps)
Marcus Smith (Harlequins, 46 caps)
Ben Spencer (Bath Rugby, 14 caps)
Freddie Steward (Leicester Tigers, 41 caps)
Jack van Poortvliet (Leicester Tigers, 21 caps)

Rehabilitation in Girona: Fin Baxter (Harlequins), Ben Curry (Sale Sharks), Ollie Lawrence (Bath Rugby), Tom Roebuck (Sale Sharks), Fin Smith (Northampton Saints)

Not considered for selection: Oscar Beard (Harlequins), Charlie Ewels (Bath Rugby), Curtis Langdon (Northampton Saints), George Martin (Leicester Tigers), Asher Opoku-Fordjour (Sale Sharks), Adam Radwan (Leicester Tigers), Will Stuart (Bath Rugby).