Eddie Jones has moved swiftly to tie up Henry Arundell, English rugby’s latest wonder kid, by naming him in his latest England training squad.
Arundell, 20-year old London Irish fullback, is eligible for Scotland, Wales and Cyprus as well as England. And since footage of his outrageous length of the field try against Toulon earlier this month went viral - there has been a scramble for his services.
Jones has moved fastest, including him in a 36-man squad which meets on Sunday for a three-day mini camp. That guarantees nothing, however, as he is not committed to one country or another until he becomes capped. England’s next cap match is the first Test against Australia in Perth on July 2.
Returning to the squad after injury are captain Owen Farrell and new Leicester signing Anthony Watson, Bath wing Joe Cokanasiga and fit-again Manu Tuilagi.
Jones said: “We’re going to use this camp as an opportunity to prepare a base game for the Barbarians fixture and for a really important Australia tour.
“We’ll focus on how we want to play, how we want to be as a team off the field and continue to develop the squad cohesiveness and behaviours.
"It is also 16 months to the World Cup and every minute counts. We want a hard-working and enjoyable environment for the players and to make sure we are all on the same page. We are allowed a squad of 36 players, so it has been a balancing act.
“We want to take a look at some younger players and prepare a base camp for the Barbarians game, particularly as we will be without the Premiership finalists, and also give some senior players a rest as we get to a crucial part of the season. “
These players will still be in contention for the Australia tour.” England host Barbarians at Twickenham in a non-cap game on Sunday June 19.
FULL SQUAD
FORWARDS
Alfie Barbeary (Wasps, uncapped), Jamie Blamire (Newcastle Falcons, 6 caps), Ollie Chessum (Leicester Tigers, 2 caps), Tom Curry (Sale Sharks, 40 caps), Nic Dolly (Leicester Tigers, 1 cap), Alex Dombrandt (Harlequins, 9 caps), Charlie Ewels (Bath Rugby, 30 caps), Ellis Genge (Leicester Tigers, 36 caps), Joe Heyes (Leicester Tigers, 2 caps), Maro Itoje (Saracens, 56 caps), Joe Launchbury (Wasps, 70 caps), Courtney Lawes (Northampton Saints, 93 caps), Lewis Ludlam (Northampton Saints, 11 caps), George McGuigan (Newcastle Falcons, uncapped), Tom Pearson (London Irish, uncapped), Bevan Rodd (Sale Sharks, 2 caps), Will Stuart (Bath Rugby, 20 caps), Sam Underhill (Bath Rugby, 28 caps), Mako Vunipola (Saracens, 67 caps), Jack Willis (Wasps, 3 caps)
BACKS
Henry Arundell (London Irish, uncapped), Orlando Bailey (Bath Rugby, uncapped), Joe Cokanasiga (Bath Rugby, 11 caps), Fraser Dingwall (Northampton Saints, uncapped), Owen Farrell (Saracens, 94 caps), Tommy Freeman (Northampton Saints, uncapped), George Furbank (Northampton Saints, 6 caps), Will Joseph (London Irish, uncapped), Louis Lynagh (Harlequins, uncapped), Alex Mitchell (Northampton Saints, 1 cap), Harry Randall (Bristol Bears, 6 caps), Marcus Smith (Harlequins, 10 caps), Freddie Steward (Leicester Tigers, 10 caps), Manu Tuilagi (Sale Sharks, 46 caps), Jack van Poortvliet (Leicester Tigers, uncapped) ,Anthony Watson (Bath Rugby, 51 caps).
