Major omissions as Borthwick names 36-man England training squad for Nations Championship

England head coach Steve Borthwick has named a 36-player squad for a three-day training camp ahead of the forthcoming Nations Championship.

There’s a return to the squad of Harlequins loosehead Fin Baxter and Sale Sharks’ Joe Marchant. Maro Itoje returns after having the summer off, while Will Stuart, Ben Curry, Emmanuel Iyogun, Tom Pearson and Kepueli Tuipulotu all return.

There’s no room for Bath’s Ben Spencer, Ollie Lawrence, Ted Hill, Vilikesa Sela and Charlie Ewels. Bristol’s George Kloska and Saracens’ hooker Theo Dan are also missing, having appeared in the June window of the new competition.

Seb Atkinson, Immanuel Feyi-Waboso and Guy Pepper are all listed as being in injury rehab. Chandler Cunningham-South and Benhard Janse van Rensburg are also not considered due to injury.

The squad assembled on Sunday and will train at England’s Performance Centre at Pennyhill Park through to Tuesday as preparations begin for a crucial November schedule.

England kick off their Nations Championship campaign against Australia at Allianz Stadium, Twickenham, on November 8 before further fixtures against Japan and New Zealand later in the month.

The short camp provides Borthwick with an opportunity to bring his players together following the opening weeks of the domestic season, while a final Nations Championship squad will be finalised in the coming weeks.

Forwards:
Fin Baxter (Harlequins)
Ollie Chessum (Leicester Tigers)
Arthur Clark (Gloucester Rugby)
Alex Coles (Northampton Saints)
Luke Cowan-Dickie (Sale Sharks)
Ben Curry (Sale Sharks)
Tom Curry (Sale Sharks)
Ben Earl (Saracens)
Greg Fisilau (Exeter Chiefs)
Jamie George (Saracens)
Ellis Genge (Bristol Bears)
Joe Heyes (Leicester Tigers)
Maro Itoje (Saracens)
Emmanuel Iyogun (Northampton Saints)
George Martin (Saracens)
Asher Opoku-Fordjour (Sale Sharks)
Tom Pearson (Northampton Saints)
Henry Pollock (Northampton Saints)
Will Stuart (Bath Rugby)
Kepueli Tuipulotu (Bath Rugby)

Backs:
Noah Caluori (Saracens)
Fraser Dingwall (Northampton Saints)
George Ford (Sale Sharks)
Tommy Freeman (Northampton Saints)
George Furbank (Harlequins)
Will Joseph (Gloucester Rugby)
Joe Marchant (Sale Sharks)
Archie McParland (Northampton Saints)
Alex Mitchell (Northampton Saints)
Cadan Murley (Harlequins)
Max Ojomoh (Bath Rugby)
Henry Slade (Exeter Chiefs)
Fin Smith (Northampton Saints)
Marcus Smith (Harlequins)
Freddie Steward (Leicester Tigers)
Jack van Poortvliet (Leicester Tigers)