England Six Nations Squad Latest Ahead Of Opening Round Trip To Dublin

Here’s the latest confirmed England Six Nations squad as Steve Borthwick’s side gears up for a tough trip to Dublin on the opening weekend.

Former skipper Jamie George is out of the Ireland game after picking up a hamstring issue in camp.

The hooker has been replaced in the squad by Northampton’s Curtis Langdon, with Saracens teammate Theo Dan and Sale’s Luke Cowan-Dickie expected to battle for the starting shirt in Dublin.

Starting scrum-half Alex Mitchell should now be fit for the weekend. The Northampton nine has been recovering from a knee injury suffered in Saints’ Champions Cup victory over Munster, but England coach Borthwick expects him to be available.

Leicester’s Jack van Poortvliet is also injured, meaning Bath’s Ben Spencer and Sale’s Raffi Quirke have both been called up as scrum-half cover.

Uncapped Northampton starlet Henry Pollock will be hoping for a senior debut. The 20-year-old was the star of England’s U20 World Cup triumph and has been knocking on the door of the senior squad all season.

He comes in for injured Harlequins back-rower Alex Dombrandt, with Bath’s Sam Underhill also out.

Jamie George has been replaced as captain by Maro Itoje. The Saracens lock has been long-touted as a future England captain and now gets his chance.

Along with Pollock, there are three other uncapped players. Gloucester’s Arthur Clarke and Harlequins duo Oscar Beard and Cadan Murley are also in line for senior debuts.

England Six Nations Squad

Forwards:

Fin Baxter (Harlequins, 6 caps)
Ollie Chessum (Leicester Tigers, 23 caps)
Arthur Clarke (Gloucester, uncapped)*
Luke Cowan-Dickie (Sale Sharks, 44 caps)
Chandler Cunningham-South (Harlequins, 11 caps)
Ben Curry (Sale Sharks, 6 caps)
Tom Curry (Sale Sharks, 56 caps)
Theo Dan (Saracens, 16 caps)
Ben Earl (Saracens, 37 caps)
Ellis Genge (Bristol Bears, 66 caps)
Joe Heyes (Leicester Tigers, 7 caps)
Ted Hill (Bath, 2 caps)
Maro Itoje (Saracens, 88 caps)
Curtis Langdon (Northampton Saints, 2 caps)
George Martin (Leicester Tigers, 19 caps)
Asher Opoku-Fordjour (Sale Sharks, 1 cap)
Henry Pollock (Northampton Saints, uncapped)*
Bevan Rodd (Sale Sharks, 7 caps)
Will Stuart (Bath, 45 caps)
Tom Willis (Saracens, 1 cap)

Backs:

Oscar Beard (Harlequins, uncapped)*
Elliot Daly (Saracens, 69 caps)
Fraser Dingwall (Northampton Saints, 2 caps)
George Ford (Sale Sharks, 98 caps)
Tommy Freeman (Northampton Saints, 15 caps)
Ollie Lawrence (Bath, 31 caps)
Cadan Murley (Harlequins, uncapped)*
Raffi Quirke (Sale Sharks, 2 caps)
Harry Randall (Bristol Bears, 11 caps)
Tom Roebuck (Sale Sharks, 3 caps)
Henry Slade (Exeter Chiefs, 69 caps)
Ollie Sleightholme (Northampton Saints, 5 caps)
Fin Smith (Northampton Saints, 6 caps)
Marcus Smith (Harlequins, 39 caps)
Ben Spencer (Bath, 8 caps)
Freddie Steward (Leicester Tigers, 35 caps)

*Denotes uncapped players

England’s opening match against Ireland kicks off at 4:45pm GMT in Dublin on Saturday and will be broadcast live to UK viewers on ITV1.

According to the best UK rugby betting sites, Ireland are the favourites at 2/5, with England 13/5 outsiders.

The weekend’s other fixtures are Wales on Friday night, with Scotland hosting Italy earlier on Saturday afternoon.