Scrum-half Danny Care also left out by Eddie Jones
Thursday 17 January 2019 16:57, UK
England captain Dylan Hartley has missed out on Eddie Jones' initial 2019 Six Nations squad having failed to recover fully from a knee injury, with Owen Farrell named as captain.
Elsewhere in the 35-man selection, Jones has named four uncapped players in the shape of Gloucester wing Ollie Thorley, Saracens back-row Ben Earl, Wasps scrum-half Dan Robson and Worcester hooker Jack Singleton.
Experienced trio Mako and Billy Vunipola and Joe Launchbury are all back involved after injury, though Harlequins scrum-half Danny Care is a headline omission.
Exeter centre Ollie Devoto and Harlequins' back-row Jack Clifford earn England recalls having not featured at Test level since 2016 and 2017 respectively, while Leicester Tigers tighthead Dan Cole is also recalled for the first time in a year.
England kick-off their Six Nations campaign away to defending champions Ireland in Dublin on Saturday, February 2, with the squad travelling to Portugal on Wednesday, January 23 to begin preparations.
"Unfortunately, Dylan [Hartley] won't be available for the Ireland game so we won't take him to Portugal but we are hopeful he will be back later in the Championship," Jones said on Thursday. "Owen [Farrell] will be captain by himself and he will certainly have great support from a number of senior players.
"We are very happy with the squad and have a number of players who have come back from long-term injury. We are looking forward to getting across to Portugal and having a good 10-day preparation for the Ireland game.
"The first thing when we get together as a squad is to get our cohesion back. The players have been playing for their clubs with different styles and different playing philosophies, so it's about getting them thinking about playing the England way.
"The second thing is to get our togetherness stronger to work as hard as we can to make sure we are well connected on and off the field so Portugal is an important camp for us.
"Ireland are the best side in the world. They are a very well coached and drilled side and have particular things they do well in the game. To beat Ireland, we need to compete brutally in all the contest areas of the game."
Forwards: Jack Clifford, Dan Cole, Luke Cowan-Dickie, Tom Curry, Ben Earl, Ellis Genge, Jamie George, Nathan Hughes, Maro Itoje, George Kruis, Joe Launchbury, Courtney Lawes, Ben Moon, Brad Shields, Kyle Sinckler, Jack Singleton, Billy Vunipola, Mako Vunipola, Harry Williams, Mark Wilson.
Backs: Chris Ashton, Mike Brown, Joe Cokanasiga, Elliot Daly, Ollie Devoto, Owen Farrell (c), George Ford, Jonny May, Jack Nowell, Dan Robson, Henry Slade, Ben Te'o, Ollie Thorley, Manu Tuilagi, Ben Youngs.
