Steve Borthwick has cut his England squad from 36 to 29 ahead of this Sunday’s Guinness Six Nations round two match at home to Italy, axing Ben Curry – last weekend’s starting openside – along with used replacements Ben Youngs, the most capped England player ever, and Anthony Watson.
Five England squad forwards have been omitted – Curry, Joe Heyes, Jonny Hill, Bevan Rodd and Sam Simmonds – along with two backs, Youngs and Watson.
Last week, when Borthwick reduced his squad from 36 to 29 ahead of the Scotland match that England went on to lose 23-29, four forwards – Heyes, Hill, Rodd and Jack Willis – were released along with three backs – Alex Mitchell, Caden Murley and Guy Porter.
However, when the head coach named his 36-strong strong on Monday to prepare for the Italy match, only five of the seven omitted in midweek a week ago – Heyes, Hill, Rodd, Willis and Mitchell – were asked back and the places that Murley and Porter had occupied went to Henry Arundell and Henry Slade.
Scrum-half Mitchell now stays on with the squad until this weekend game’s, with the veteran Youngs dropping out, Willis has nudged 2021 British and Irish Lions back-rower Simmonds out on this occasion, while the fit-again Arundell has got the jump on Watson, another 2021 Lions tourist.
