Manu Tuilagi left out of Eddie Jones' England training squad
Billy Vunipola and James Haskell earn England recalls for two-day camp
By Robert Mulhern
Last Updated: 29/12/17 2:53pm
Manu Tuilagi has been left out of England's training camp squad, while Eddie Jones has handed first call-ups to Bath's Beno Obano and Newcastle's Gary Graham.
Obano and Graham will join the 34-man squad for a two-day training camp in Brighton next week ahead of England's preparations for their Six Nations opener against Italy on February 4 in Rome.
Billy Vunipola and James Haskell, who was dropped for the autumn internationals, have been recalled, but second-row Courtney Lawes will not feature for personal reasons.
"This camp in Brighton is important for us to set the tone as a squad ahead of the Six Nations," said Jones.
"We will need to improve if we are to hunt down our opponents and beat them. This tournament will be exciting and challenging, as we know we will play against some very strong teams.
"Brighton will provide a great base to begin our preparations with players coming away with a clear plan for our opening match of the campaign against Italy."
Obano's inclusion is seen as reward for some notable performances for Bath in recent weeks, while Graham has previously represented Scotland at U20 level. However, his inclusion comes against the backdrop of injuries in the back-row to Sam Underhill, Nathan Hughes and Tom Curry.
England's squad for the Six Nations will be announced on January 18, before the squad departs for a week's training camp in Portugal three days later.
England have won the last two Six Nations, including the Grand Slam in 2016.
England training squad for Brighton camp:
Forwards: Dan Cole (Leicester Tigers) Tom Dunn (Bath Rugby) Charlie Ewels (Bath Rugby) Jamie George (Saracens) Gary Graham (Newcastle Falcons) Dylan Hartley (Northampton Saints) James Haskell (Wasps) Nick Isiekwe (Saracens) Maro Itoje (Saracens) Joe Launchbury (Wasps) Joe Marler (Harlequins) Zach Mercer (Bath Rugby) * Beno Obano (Bath Rugby) Chris Robshaw (Harlequins) Sam Simmonds (Exeter Chiefs) Kyle Sinckler (Harlequins) Billy Vunipola (Saracens) Mako Vunipola (Saracens) Harry Williams (Exeter Chiefs).
Backs: Mike Brown (Harlequins) Danny Care (Harlequins) Nathan Earle (Saracens) Owen Farrell (Saracens) George Ford (Leicester Tigers) Piers Francis (Northampton Saints) Jonathan Joseph (Bath Rugby) Jonny May (Leicester Tigers) Jack Nowell (Exeter Chiefs) Henry Slade (Exeter Chiefs) *Marcus Smith (Harlequins) Denny Solomona (Sale Sharks) Ben Te'o (Worcester Warriors) Anthony Watson (Bath Rugby) Ben Youngs (Leicester Tigers)
* = apprentice players
