Six Nations
England hand Easter and Cipriani recalls
Tom Hamilton at Twickenham
January 21, 2015
Nick Easter is back in the England reckoning © Getty Images
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England have handed Nick Easter and Danny Cipriani international lifelines after they were included in the 34-man training squad for the Six Nations.

Cipriani played for England in their summer tour of New Zealand but found himself fourth in the pecking order during the November Tests behind Owen Farrell, George Ford and Stephen Myler who all also get the nod in the squad for the forthcoming championship.

Cipriani deserves call-up: Lancaster
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Such was Cipriani's seeming pessimism over his Test prospects, he was reportedly weighing up a move to Toulon at the end of the season in a switch which would see him removed from the England reckoning.

But the news of his recall will come as a welcome boost both for Cipriani and Sale who hope he will sign on beyond the end of the current campaign.

For Easter, 36, his recall is testament to his consistent form for Harlequins. Easter last played for England in their disastrous 2011 Rugby World Cup campaign where the side made the headlines for a series of off-field misdemeanours. He is yet to feature in a Stuart Lancaster training squad but with Ben Morgan missing the championship through injury, Easter has come back in from the cold.

Both will hope to force their way into the selection reckoning when England kick-off their Six Nations campaign on February 6 in Cardiff against Wales. And another individual who will hope to feature in that Test is Bath's Jonathan Joseph who is another notable inclusion having excelled for the Aviva Premiership side this season.

England a country for old men

© Getty Images
  • The attention has switched from long-term planning to short-term gain. Nick Easter's inclusion signals an intent from England coach Stuart Lancaster to prioritise immediate reward from their Six Nations campaign rather than looking to give players of promise a chance to get accustomed to his credo and expectations.
  • For Easter it was a case of unfinished business. Ever since Lancaster left the Harlequins No.8 out of his original Elite Player Squad back in 2012, Easter has been tapping on the door. When Ben Morgan collapsed into the sodden Kingsholm turf with a fractured ankle a fortnight ago, the tapping turned into a sharp rap of the knuckles, bone on wood.
  • Read the full feature here

Joseph was named Man of the Match on Sunday for his performance in Toulouse and with Manu Tuilagi's injury woes showing no signs of abating, Joseph will hope to have the chance to showcase his array of skills at outside centre.

Alongside Joseph's inclusion, forwards Mako Vunipola, Alex Corbisiero, Geoff Parling, Dan Cole and Tom Youngs are handed recalls after their comebacks from injury.

Tom Croft, Chris Ashton, Marland Yarde, Henry Thomas and Matt Mullan will have to be content with a place in the Saxons with Sam Burgess and Maro Itoje included for the first time. They will face the Wolfhounds on January 30.

"We have plenty of players to consider and with some players still being assessed from last weekend after suffering knocks we have kept our options open," Lancaster said. "It's a big European weekend ahead and there may be further changes once we assess the fitness of the players after round six and we will provide an update on Monday.

"We will use the four-day training camp and the Saxons game to narrow down selection as we lead into the opening game against Wales. The match against the Wolfhounds in Cork gives us a great opportunity to take a look at a group of players who are right on the edge of the senior squad and we also have the likes of David Strettle and Freddie Burns, who are very much in our thinking as options going forward.

"We will be without Joe Launchbury and Ben [Morgan] and it was a real shame to see Ben Foden pick up his injury up last weekend. We will continue to work with Northampton Saints and Leicester Tigers with Courtney and Manu and see where they are as the Six Nations progresses."

Lancaster also confirmed Chris Robshaw will captain the side through the Six Nations campaign. He added: "He [Robshaw] has fully recovered from his shoulder injury and as we have seen over the last three years he is an outstanding captain who delivers consistently as a player and a leader."

England Squad:

Forwards
Dave Attwood (Bath Rugby), Calum Clark (Northampton Saints), Dan Cole (Leicester Tigers), Alex Corbisiero (Northampton Saints), Nick Easter (Harlequins), Dylan Hartley (Northampton Saints), James Haskell (Wasps), Graham Kitchener (Leicester Tigers), George Kruis (Saracens), Joe Marler (Harlequins), Geoff Parling (Leicester Tigers), Chris Robshaw (Harlequins, captain), Billy Vunipola (Saracens), Mako Vunipola (Saracens), David Wilson (Bath Rugby), Tom Wood (Northampton Saints), Tom Youngs (Leicester Tigers)

Backs
Brad Barritt (Saracens, Mike Brown (Harlequins), Luther Burrell (Northampton Saints), Danny Care (Harlequins), Danny Cipriani (Sale Sharks), Kyle Eastmond (Bath Rugby), Owen Farrell (Saracens), George Ford (Bath Rugby), Alex Goode (Saracens), Jonathan Joseph (Bath Rugby), Jonny May (Gloucester Rugby), Stephen Myler (Northampton Saints), Jack Nowell (Exeter Chiefs), Billy Twelvetrees (Gloucester Rugby), Anthony Watson (Bath Rugby), Richard Wigglesworth (Saracens), Ben Youngs (Leicester Tigers)

England Saxons squad

Forwards
Kieran Brookes (Newcastle Falcons), Tom Croft (Leicester Tigers), Christian Day (Northampton Saints), Luke Cowan-Dickie (Exeter Chiefs), Dave Ewers (Exeter Chiefs), Matt Garvey (Bath Rugby), Ross Harrison (Sale Sharks), Maro Itoje (Saracens), Matt Kvesic (Gloucester Rugby), Matt Mullan (Wasps), Henry Thomas (Bath Rugby), Thomas Waldrom (Exeter Chiefs), Alex Waller (Northampton Saints), Rob Webber (Bath Rugby)

Backs
Chris Ashton (Saracens), Sam Burgess (Bath Rugby), Elliot Daly (Wasps), Ollie Devoto (Bath Rugby), Lee Dickson (Northampton Saints, captain), Chris Pennell (Worcester Warriors), Joe Simpson (Wasps), Henry Slade (Exeter Chiefs), Marland Yarde (Harlequins), Christian Wade (Wasps)

The following players were not considered for the England Senior training squad or the England Saxons game against Ireland Wolfhounds because of injury although they may play a part further into the Six Nations tournament: Anthony Allen (knee), Will Fraser (back), Courtney Lawes (ankle), Semesa Rokoduguni (hip), Manusamoa Tuilagi (groin).

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

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