Chris Ashton, Danny Cipriani and Luther Burrell miss cut as Eddie Jones names 45-man pre-season training squad
England head coach Eddie Jones has dealt a blow to the international futures of Chris Ashton, Danny Cipriani and Luther Burrell after omitting the high-profile trio from his 45-man pre-season training squad.
Burrell was hauled off after only 29 minutes of England’s opening clash of their historic 3-0 series win in Australia and failed to make another appearance, while Cipriani and Ashton were overlooked for that tour.
Jones instead opted for a flush of new blood, which included maiden call-ups for Fijian-born back-row forward Nathan Hughes of Wasps, who qualified for England on 27 June on residency grounds, and Leicester’s Zimbabwe-born lock Mike Williams.
Harlequins centre Joe Marchant and Leicester flanker Will Evans will also form part of the squad which meets this weekend.
Jones said: “We’ve chosen a number of new faces to attend this camp on the form they have shown recently or the potential we see in them.”