England
Eddie Jones names seven uncapped players as axe falls on Tom Youngs
Tom Hamilton
January 13, 2016
'Jones must decide when players are ready'

England coach Eddie Jones has called up seven uncapped players ahead of the Six Nations but sprung a surprise by dropping Leicester Tigers hooker Tom Youngs and leaving out Sale's Danny Cipriani.

Youngs is omitted along with experienced internationals Geoff Parling, Brad Barritt, Richard Wigglesworth, David Wilson, Tom Wood, Ben Morgan, Luther Burrell and Rob Webber. Sale fly-half Danny Cipriani is also left out with Jones opting to go with Owen Farrell and George Ford as his two No.10s.

Injured quartet Kieran Brookes, Manu Tuilagi, Henry Slade and Dave Ewers are named in the EPS but not in the squad ahead of the Six Nations opener with Henry Thomas, Ollie Devoto, Sam Hill and Matt Kvesic replacing them.

Devoto and Hill are joined in the 33-man squad by fellow uncapped players Paul Hill (Northampton Saints), Maro Itoje (Saracens), Jack Clifford (Harlequins), Josh Beaumont (Sale Sharks) and Elliot Daly (Wasps). Hooker Dylan Hartley earns a recall as do hooker Luke Cowan-Dickie, loose-head Matt Mullan and wingers Chris Ashton and Marland Yarde.

Brown: There is good times ahead for England
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"We have selected a squad of players who we think can go to Murrayfield and win," said Jones. "This is our number one priority, to start with a win, so we have picked a squad which is a mix of experience and potential.

"The long-term strategy for England is to develop a side who can be the most dominant team in world rugby, so we have chosen a lot of new players on the growth we see in them.

"We see these players growing into England players of the future and developing into a side who can be the best in the world. Our aim is to develop a squad where there is depth and competition in every position.

"I have spoken to some of the players who have not been selected. Naturally they will be disappointed and that is how it should be.

"They know what they need to do to get back into this squad. The door is not shut for anyone. There is no such thing as a shut door because of injuries and loss of form. There will always be opportunities to anyone playing consistently well in the Premiership and Europe."

He added: "We will be without Manu Tuilagi for the Scotland game but we will continue to work with Leicester Tigers and Manu and see where he is as the Six Nations progresses. With big European weekends ahead there may be further changes once we assess the fitness of the players.

"I am really excited about working with England and, together with Steve Borthwick and Paul Gustard, we hope to build a team that will reflect the level of talent that exists within the English game."

England's Six Nations Squad:

Props: Dan Cole, Paul Hill, Joe Marler, Matt Mullan, Henry Thomas (injury replacement for Kieran Brookes), Mako Vunipola

Hookers: Luke Cowan-Dickie, Jamie George, Dylan Hartley

Locks: George Kruis, Maro Itoje, Joe Launchbury, Courtney Lawes

Back-rows: Josh Beaumont, Jack Clifford, Matt Kvesic (injury replacement for Dave Ewers), James Haskell, Chris Robshaw, Billy Vunipola

Scrum-halves: Danny Care, Ben Youngs

Fly-halves: Owen Farrell, George Ford

Centres: Elliot Daly, Ollie Devoto (injury replacement for Manu Tuilagi), Sam Hill (injury replacement for Henry Slade), Jonathan Joseph

Back threes: Chris Ashton, Mike Brown, Alex Goode, Jack Nowell, Anthony Watson, Marland Yarde

© ESPN Sports Media Ltd
Tom Hamilton is the Associate Editor of ESPNscrum.

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