England head coach Stuart Lancaster trims Colorado training squad
Friday 10 July 2015 13:02, UK
Five players have been cut from England's Rugby World Cup training squad for their Colorado camp.
Stephen Myler, Elliot Daly, Maro Itoje and Ed Slater have all returned to their clubs on standby after taking part in three weeks of training at Pennyhill Park in Surrey, while Nick Easter remains at Harlequins in order to undergo treatment on a sore back.
England head coach Stuart Lancaster believes the work undertaken on home soil will prove beneficial and assured the players missing out on the trip they remain in contention for a place in his World Cup squad.
"Elliot and Maro have fitted in and trained well and it’s been great for them to be in this environment," Lancaster told the RFU's official website.
"They are both young players who have bright futures. They have made a great impression and I am sure other opportunities will come for both of them further down the line.
I have spoken to all the players to explain that things can change very quickly and they can come back in at any point.
"Steve and Ed, likewise, have contributed greatly. Ed has done well to recover from his knee injury having missed the majority of last season. However, there is a lot of competition in the second row.
"Steve, who is in another really competitive position, has only recently been able to take a full part in training having injured his knee towards the end of last season. But he is getting up to speed now and I am sure he would be ready to come back in should the opportunity arise.
"I have spoken to all the players to explain that things can change very quickly and they can come back in at any point.
"Nick will stay for treatment on his back rather than risk aggravating it further with travel and we look forward to him re-joining the squad in August when we will review the squad and also consider those who have been unable to begin the camp after suffering injuries at the end of last season.
"The players have worked very hard for the past three weeks and there is a really good feel about the group. Denver is the next stage in our training, a chance to develop further in a different environment."
England's 45-man training squad:
Ashton, Attwood, Barritt, Brookes, Brown, Burrell, Burgess, Care, Cipriani, Clark, Cole, Corbisiero, Cowan-Dickie, Dickson, Eastmond, Farrell, Ford, Goode, George, Haskell, Joseph, Lawes, Launchbury, Kruis, Kvesic, Marler, May, Morgan, Mullan, Nowell, Parling, Robshaw, Rokoduguni, Slade, Twelvetrees, M Vunipola, B Vunipola, Watson, Webber, Wigglesworth, Wilson, Wood, Yarde, B Youngs, L Youngs
