Advertisement

Gloucester fly-half Charlie Atkinson earns surprise England call-up

Charlie Atkinson - Gloucester fly-half Charlie Atkinson earns surprise England call-up
Charlie Atkinson has made Steve Borthwick's 19-man pre-summer tour squad - Getty Images/Ryan Hiscott

Charlie Atkinson is the surprise name in a 19-player training squad named by England head coach Steve Borthwick which will convene next week as preparations for the summer tour of Japan and New Zealand begin to ramp up.

The squad will take part in a four-day training camp at Pennyhill Park this week, with England players involved in the Gallagher Premiership semi-finals left out of the group.

Atkinson, 22, has spent the second half of this season competing for the No 10 shirt with Adam Hastings at Gloucester following his move from Leicester Tigers back in December, with Atkinson scoring a try on his debut against Sale Sharks in January.

The fly-half was not in Gloucester’s squad for their Challenge Cup final defeat to South African franchise the Sharks on Friday night, but did feature earlier this year for England ‘A’, starting at fly-half against Portugal.

Atkinson’s inclusion comes with Fin Smith and George Ford both involved in the Gallagher Premiership play-offs for Northampton Saints and Sale respectively, with Atkinson one of two fly-halves named in the group by Borthwick along with Marcus Smith.

Atkinson has been involved sporadically in the past and was referenced by Kevin Sinfield at the start of last year as one of the No 10s on England’s radar, while also linking up with the squad as a “training player” during Eddie Jones final autumn in charge of England having been part of a wider squad in the summer of 2022 before the tour to Australia, when he was called up for the first time.

Two players not listed in the current squad but set to be selected for the second training camp the following week include veteran props Joe Marler and Dan Cole, who are both fit.

Otherwise the current group of 19 are understood to have been partly picked with an eye on the future beyond this summer’s tour, meaning they may not be part of the squad who face Japan and New Zealand.

Notable omissions from the group include the Gloucester No 8 Zach Mercer, while Bristol’s Gabriel Ibitoye has also missed out despite finishing the season in good form. Will Evans, the Premiership’s top tackler this season and an impressive jackaler, also missed out.

Zach Mercer
Atkinson's Gloucester team-mate Zach Mercer did not make the 19-man squad - Getty Images/David Rogers

Telegraph Sport revealed a number of the players called up earlier this week, including young forwards Rusi Tuima and Greg Fisilau from Exeter Chiefs. Fisilau was particularly impressive in Exeter’s recent win over Harlequins, finishing the game as his side’s top tackler while also making more than 100 metres with ball in hand. The other Exeter players in the England group are Ethan Roots and Immanuel Feyi-Waboso, who made their England debuts during the Six Nations, along with Henry Slade fresh from winning the Premiership Player of the Season award.

Harlequins have five players in the group, with Smith joined by Alex Dombrandt and Chandler Cunningham-South, another young England forward who has finished the season in good form, as well as Luke Northmore, who is uncapped and was last involved with England at the end of the 2022 Six Nations. Fin Baxter, the loosehead prop who impressed during Harlequins’ run to the Champions Cup semi-finals and is viewed by many as a long-term starter, is also in the group.

Four players selected from Leicester Tigers are George Martin, who had a strong finish to the Six Nations, along with Joe Heyes, Freddie Steward and also Jack van Poortvliet, the scrum-half who suffered a cruelly timed ankle injury in England’s warm-up fixtures ahead of the Rugby World Cup before returning in March this year. Van Poortvliet scored an impressive solo try in Leicester’s season finale win over Exeter a couple of weeks ago, and is one of two scrum-halves selected by Borthwick along with Bristol’s Harry Randall.

Randall’s club team-mate Gabriel Oghre, the former England Under-20s hooker who joined Bristol last year following the collapse of Wasps, has also been included in the squad as the only hooker. Jamie George, the England captain, along with Theo Dan (both Saracens) and Luke Cowan-Dickie (Sale) are involved in the semi-finals.

Borthwick instead of looking at Harlequins’ Evans has called up Guy Pepper, the 21-year-old Newcastle flanker who has signed for Bath next season. The final player selected is Max Malins, who was picked to go to the Rugby World Cup but only played in the game against Chile and did not feature in the Six Nations.

England training squad

Forwards: Fin Baxter (Harlequins), Chandler Cunningham-South (Harlequins), Alex Dombrandt (Harlequins), Greg Fisilau (Exeter Chiefs), Joe Heyes (Leicester Tigers), George Martin (Leicester Tigers), Gabriel Oghre (Bristol Bears), Guy Pepper (Newcastle Falcons), Ethan Roots (Exeter Chiefs), Rusi Tuima (Exeter Chiefs)

Backs: Charlie Atkinson (Gloucester Rugby), Immanuel Feyi-Waboso (Exeter Chiefs), Max Malins (Bristol Bears), Luke Northmore (Harlequins), Harry Randall (Bristol Bears), Henry Slade (Exeter Chiefs), Marcus Smith (Harlequins), Freddie Steward (Leicester Tigers), Jack van Poortvliet (Leicester Tigers)