England squad: Chris Robshaw and Danny Care left out with four new names selected in Rugby World Cup squad
Chris Robshaw has been left out of England’s Rugby World Cup training squad, four years after captaining the national team into the last World Cup.
Robshaw is the among two high-profile absentees in the squad named by Eddie Jones, with veteran scrum-half Danny Care also not selected that leaves 150 international caps missing from the 29-man squad.
Jones has named four players for the first time in what is only the players not involved in the Premiership semi-finals, with those players to be added over the course of the next two weeks before the Australian’s final training squad is named on 4 July.
Those uncapped players include breakthrough Harlequins back-row Alex Dombrandt, who only made his professional debut this at the start of this season, as well as Northampton Saints’ Lewis Ludlam. Bath full-back Ruaridh McConnochie is also selected after successfully converting from the England Sevens programme, with Gloucester prop Val Rapava Ruskin also called up.
Dombrandt’s Harlequins teammate Marcus Smith is also selected after impressing in an England XV’s victory over the Barbarians earlier this month.
Upon his selection, Jones said: “The first two England training camps are designed to improve individual players’ fundamentals to allow them to compete for a place in the Rugby World Cup squad.”
Preliminary England training squad
Forwards
Dan Cole (Leicester Tigers), Tom Curry (Sale Sharks), Alex Dombrandt (Harlequins), Tom Dunn (Bath Rugby), Charlie Ewels (Bath Rugby), Ellis Genge (Leicester Tigers), Joe Launchbury (Wasps), Lewis Ludlam (Northampton Saints), Val Rapava Ruskin (Gloucester Rugby), Nick Schonert (Worcester Warriors), Brad Shields (Wasps), Kyle Sinckler (Harlequins), Jack Singleton (Worcester Warriors), Sam Underhill (Bath Rugby), Mark Wilson (Newcastle Falcons).
Backs
Chris Ashton (Sale Sharks), Mike Brown (Harlequins), Joe Cokanasiga (Bath Rugby), Elliot Daly (Wasps), George Ford (Leicester Tigers), Jonathan Joseph (Bath Rugby), Jonny May (Leicester Tigers), Ruaridh McConnochie (Bath Rugby), Dan Robson (Wasps), Marcus Smith (Harlequins), Ben Te’o (Worcester Warriors), Manu Tuilagi (Leicester Tigers), Anthony Watson (Bath Rugby), Ben Youngs (Leicester Tigers).
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