Owen Farrell has been confirmed as England captain for the Six Nations despite having not played since November.
Eddie Jones has named a 36-man squad to prepare for the tournament which includes six uncapped players.
He rewards Wasps flanker Alfie Barbeary for his fine recent form against Leicester and European champions Toulouse.
Harlequins centre Luke Northmore, Leicester forward Ollie Chessum, Northampton fullback Tommy Freeman, London Irish wing Ollie Hassell-Collins and Bath fly-half Orlando Bailey also get invites to next week’s training camp in Brighton.
There is still no room for George Ford, who has been tearing it up for Premiership leaders Leicester all season. Nor places for Sam Underhill and Elliot Daly.
But arguably the most interesting line is Jones nailing his colours so firmly to Farrell’s mast.
The 100-cap international playmaker has played just five times since the Lions tour, in which he did not make the Test squad, and has yet to make his comeback from ankle surgery.
Now factor in Marcus Smith’s startling emergence at fly-half and the classy look of his partnership with Henry Slade against South Africa.
Stating so firmly that Farrell will wear the armband is a great show of faith in a player who has contributed as much as anyone to the national cause over the past decade.
But it could complicate selection discussions, certainly until the Saracens star, due to make his comeback against London Irish on Sunday, is back to full speed.
Jones said: “Selecting this squad has been a difficult task, we’ve got plenty of good young players coming through and some of our more experienced are rediscovering their best form.
“We think this 36 for the first training week reflects a good balance of that experience and up-and-coming talent.
“In Brighton we’ll focus on getting the fundamentals of our game in play right and developing the cohesion of the team.
“The Six Nations is going to be the most competitive we’ve ever seen. All the countries performed well in the autumn, so we need to be at our best and improve with every game.”
FULL SQUAD
FORWARDS
Alfie Barbeary (Wasps, uncapped)
Jamie Blamire (Newcastle Falcons, 5 caps)
Ollie Chessum, Leicester Tigers, uncapped)
Luke Cowan-Dickie (Exeter Chiefs, 31 caps)
Tom Curry (Sale Sharks, 36 caps)
Alex Dombrandt (Harlequins, 4 caps)
Charlie Ewels (Bath Rugby, 26 caps)
Ellis Genge (Leicester Tigers, 31 caps)
Jamie George (Saracens, 61 caps)
Joe Heyes (Leicester Tigers, 2 caps)
Jonny Hill (Exeter Chiefs, 12 caps)
Maro Itoje (Saracens, 51 caps)
Courtney Lawes (Northampton Saints, 90 caps)
Lewis Ludlam (Northampton Saints, 10 caps)
Joe Marler (Harlequins, 74 caps)
Bevan Rodd (Sale Sharks, 2 caps)
Sam Simmonds (Exeter Chiefs, 9 caps)
Kyle Sinckler (Bristol Bears, 47 caps)
Will Stuart (Bath Rugby, 15 caps)
BACKS
Mark Atkinson (Gloucester Rugby, 1 cap)
Orlando Bailey (Bath Rugby, uncapped)
Owen Farrell (Saracens, 94 caps)
Tommy Freeman (Northampton Saints, uncapped)
George Furbank (Northampton Saints, 5 caps)
Ollie Hassell-Collins (London Irish, uncapped)
Max Malins (Saracens, 10 caps)
Joe Marchant (Harlequins, 7 caps)
Jonny May (Gloucester Rugby, 69 caps)
Luke Northmore (Harlequins, uncapped)
Jack Nowell (Exeter Chiefs, 34 caps)
Raffi Quirke (Sale Sharks, 2 caps)
Harry Randall (Bristol Bears, 2 caps)
Henry Slade (Exeter Chiefs, 43 caps)
Marcus Smith (Harlequins, 5 caps)
Freddie Steward (Leicester Tigers, 5 caps)
Ben Youngs (Leicester Tigers, 112 caps)
