Alex Lozowski could this autumn win his first international cap in six years after he was rewarded for his impressive early season form with a call-up to England’s training squad next week.
The 31-year-old centre, who scored 22 points in a man-of-the-match performance in Saracens’ victory over Sale last weekend, won the last of his five caps in 2018, against Japan. England triumphed that afternoon but were trailing at half-time in what has become known among players as the “black hole” match, given a handful of players – including Lozowski, who was withdrawn at the interval – were subsequently cast aside by Eddie Jones.
With Henry Slade nursing a shoulder injury Lozowski, who spent most of last season on the sidelines after knee surgery, makes a long-awaited return to the England setup. There is also positive news for Steve Borthwick with Joe Marler deemed fit enough for the squad, having suffered a broken foot in the summer.
Of concern for Borthwick, however, is that the list of injury absentees is lengthy. George Ford was not considered for selection after suffering a torn quad in Sale’s defeat by Saracens. Sale initially feared Ford would be sidelined for six to eight weeks but after a meeting with a specialist it was determined he does not need surgery, and the hope is he will be fit to play a part this autumn. Sale are unable to put a time frame on his rehabilitation.
Alex Mitchell is also ruled out as he has not featured for Northampton this season because of a neck injury, meaning the scrum-half is a major doubt for the Autumn Nations Series fixtures against New Zealand, Australia, South Africa and Japan.
Jack van Poortvliet’s return to form – he scored a fine try against Bath last weekend – is timely and he is included, but Ben and Tom Curry, Joe Cokanasiga, Will Muir, Max Ojomoh, Raffi Quirke and Bevan Rodd are all on the injured list.
Luke Cowan-Dickie is back in the fold after an impressive start to the season. The Sale hooker has not featured for England since 2022 after struggling with long-term neck and shoulder problems but is included in the 36-man squad that will spend the first half of next week training at Twickenham and Pennyhill Park. Elliot Daly also returns, having missed the summer tour for family reasons, while Ellis Genge is back after also missing out on the trip to Japan and New Zealand through injury. Tom Willis – another to start the season brightly for Saracens – along with Ollie Chessum, Tom Pearson, Greg Fisilau, Trevor Davison and Oscar Beard are all also included having missed the summer tour.
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“After watching a competitive and high scoring start to the Premiership season, I am once again looking forward to gathering the players together,” said Borthwick. “This training camp is an important part of our preparations for the Autumn Nations Series as we continue to build on the cohesion we’ve developed over the past two campaigns. The squad reflects the depth and quality we have in English rugby, and we are looking forward to working with the players ahead of what will be a highly competitive series.”