Owen Farrell leads 36-man England Six Nations squad

Owen Farrell has been named as England captain for the 2022 Six Nations with a 36-player group selected by Eddie Jones ahead of the tournament.

The squad will assemble in Brighton on Monday 24 January for a five-day training camp ahead of the tournament. England open their campaign against Scotland at Murrayfield on 5 February.

George Ford is again left out, with Marcus Smith and Farrell preferred at fly-half alongside uncapped Bath youngster Orlando Bailey, who earns a first call-up. Farrell has not played since suffering an ankle injury during the autumn but is expected to be fit for the start of the Six Nations.

Bailey is one of six uncapped players in the squad. Wasps back-rower Alfie Barbeary is rewarded for strong club form and is joined in the back-row mix by Leicester’s Ollie Chessum, while Tommy Freeman of Northampton and London Irish flyer Ollie Hassell-Collins get the chance to push for places in the back three.

Manu Tuilagi is not included in the squad – the centre is yet to return to action after suffering an injury in England’s final Autumn Nations Series fixture against South Africa. There is a place, however, for Harlequins well-rounded uncapped centre Luke Northmore.

There are no recalls for either Mako or Billy Vunipola, but Jack Nowell is included for the first time in more than two years after an extended period of injury strife. Flanker Sam Underhill is a surprise omission, and Elliot Daly, who missed the autumn with an injury, is also not included.

Scrum-half Ben Youngs could become England’s most capped male player during the Six Nations – the 32-year-old is two behind Jason Leonard’s tally of 114.

“Selecting this squad has been a difficult task, we’ve got plenty of good young players coming through and some of our more experienced are rediscovering their best form,” Jones said.

“We think this 36 for the first training week reflects a good balance of that experience and up-and-coming talent.

“In Brighton we’ll focus on getting the fundamentals of our game in play right and developing the cohesion of the team.

“The Six Nations is going to be the most competitive we’ve ever seen. All the countries performed well in the autumn, so we need to be at our best and improve with every game.”

England squad for 2022 Six Nations

FORWARDS

Alfie Barbeary (Wasps, uncapped)

Jamie Blamire (Newcastle Falcons, 5 caps)

Ollie Chessum, Leicester Tigers, uncapped)

Luke Cowan-Dickie (Exeter Chiefs, 31 caps)

Tom Curry (Sale Sharks, 36 caps)

Alex Dombrandt (Harlequins, 4 caps)

Charlie Ewels (Bath Rugby, 26 caps)

Ellis Genge (Leicester Tigers, 31 caps)

Jamie George (Saracens, 61 caps)

Joe Heyes (Leicester Tigers, 2 caps)

Jonny Hill (Exeter Chiefs, 12 caps)

Maro Itoje (Saracens, 51 caps)

Courtney Lawes (Northampton Saints, 90 caps)

Lewis Ludlam (Northampton Saints, 10 caps)

Joe Marler (Harlequins, 74 caps)

Bevan Rodd (Sale Sharks, 2 caps)

Sam Simmonds (Exeter Chiefs, 9 caps)

Kyle Sinckler (Bristol Bears, 47 caps)

Will Stuart (Bath Rugby, 15 caps)

BACKS

Mark Atkinson (Gloucester Rugby, 1 cap)

Orlando Bailey (Bath Rugby, uncapped)

Owen Farrell (Saracens, 94 caps)

Tommy Freeman (Northampton Saints, uncapped)

George Furbank (Northampton Saints, 5 caps)

Ollie Hassell-Collins (London Irish, uncapped)

Max Malins (Saracens, 10 caps)

Joe Marchant (Harlequins, 7 caps)

Jonny May (Gloucester Rugby, 69 caps)

Luke Northmore (Harlequins, uncapped)

Jack Nowell (Exeter Chiefs, 34 caps)

Raffi Quirke (Sale Sharks, 2 caps)

Harry Randall (Bristol Bears, 2 caps)

Henry Slade (Exeter Chiefs, 43 caps)

Marcus Smith (Harlequins, 5 caps)

Freddie Steward (Leicester Tigers, 5 caps)

Ben Youngs (Leicester Tigers, 112 caps)