England coach Steve Borthwick has included 10 uncapped players in a 36-man squad for the summer tour of Argentina as he looks to build depth and offer new opportunities in the absence of 13 men away on duty with the British and Irish Lions.
Charlie Atkinson, Seb Atkinson, Arthur Clark (all Gloucester), Will Muir, Max Ojomoh and Guy Pepper (all Bath), Oscar Beard and Luke Northmore (Harlequins) along with Sale’s Joe Carpenter and Emmanuel Iyogun of Northampton are the new faces, some of whom played in last Saturday’s non-cap match against a France XV.
Jamie George and George Ford, who has 99 caps, will co-captain the squad as England face the Pumas in Buenos Aires on July 5 and in San Juan on July 12 and play the United States in Washington, D.C. on July 19.
On England’s Argentina tour in the Lions year of 2017, Tom Curry and Sam Underhill broke through and two years later were key components of the team that reached the World Cup final, as did prop Ellis Genge.
“The three-test series is a huge challenge and a valuable opportunity for the continued development of this squad,” Borthwick said in a statement.
“For some of the younger players, this will be their first experience of touring overseas with England. Travelling together helps strengthen team bonds and offers a valuable chance for new players to integrate into our environment.
“It’s an exciting test for us, and we’re looking forward to seeing how we continue to evolve as a team.”
England squad to tour Argentina and United States:
Forwards: Fin Baxter (Harlequins), Arthur Clark (Gloucester Rugby), Alex Coles (Northampton Saints), Chandler Cunningham-South (Harlequins), Ben Curry (Sale Sharks), Theo Dan (Saracens), Trevor Davison (Northampton Saints), Alex Dombrandt (Harlequins), Charlie Ewels (Bath Rugby), Jamie George (Saracens) – co-captain, Joe Heyes (Leicester Tigers), Ted Hill (Bath Rugby), Nick Isiekwe (Saracens), Emmanuel Iyogun (Northampton Saints), Curtis Langdon (Northampton Saints), Asher Opoku-Fordjour (Sale Sharks), Guy Pepper (Bath Rugby), Bevan Rodd (Sale Sharks), Sam Underhill (Bath Rugby), Tom Willis (Saracens)
Backs: Charlie Atkinson (Gloucester Rugby), Seb Atkinson (Gloucester Rugby), Oscar Beard (Harlequins), Joe Carpenter (Sale Sharks), Immanuel Feyi-Waboso (Exeter Chiefs), George Ford (Sale Sharks) – co-captain, Will Muir (Bath Rugby), Cadan Murley (Harlequins), Luke Northmore (Harlequins), Max Ojomoh (Bath Rugby), Harry Randall (Bristol Bears), Tom Roebuck (Sale Sharks), Henry Slade (Exeter Chiefs), Ben Spencer (Bath Rugby), Freddie Steward (Leicester Tigers), Jack van Poortvliet (Leicester Tigers)
– British and Irish Lions vs Argentina: Time will tell if loss was a blip or an omen
– British & Irish Lions fixtures for Australia tour
– The full 38-man Lions squad
Source: espn.com