George Ford, Alex Coles and Ted Hill added to England squad for All Blacks Test
Tom Roebuck, Charlie Ewels and Ollie Chessum have been released from head coach Steve Borthwick’s group.
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.George Ford, Alex Coles and Ted Hill have been added to England’s 36-man squad for their autumn opener against New Zealand on November 2.
Fly-half Ford had to prove his fitness after suffering a quad injury while playing for Sale, but is now in contention to face the All Blacks at Allianz Stadium.
Tom Roebuck, Charlie Ewels and Ollie Chessum have been released from head coach Steve Borthwick’s group.
Chessum is awaiting further assessment on a knee problem, while Ewels is currently following return-to-play protocols.
Chessum suffered his injury during the squad’s training camp in Girona last week and could now miss the remainder of the autumn fixtures against Australia, South Africa and Japan.
The Leicester forward is a significant loss as he provides options in the second and back rows and it was at blindside flanker where he made a strong finish to this year’s Six Nations with impressive displays against Ireland and France.
He would have toured Japan and New Zealand in the summer with the expectation of adding to his 23 caps, only to be sidelined by shoulder and thumb issues that needed surgery.
Squad: Forwards – Fin Baxter (Harlequins), Dan Cole (Leicester), Alex Coles (Northampton), Luke Cowan-Dickie (Sale), Chandler Cunningham-South (Harlequins), Ben Curry (Sale), Tom Curry (Sale), Theo Dan (Saracens), Trevor Davison (Northampton), Alex Dombrandt (Harlequins), Ben Earl (Saracens), Ellis Genge (Bristol), Jamie George (Saracens), Ted Hill (Bath), Nick Isiekwe (Saracens), Maro Itoje (Saracens), Joe Marler (Harlequins), George Martin (Leicester), Will Stuart (Bath), Sam Underhill (Bath).
Backs – Elliot Daly (Saracens), Immanuel Feyi-Waboso (Exeter), George Ford (Sale), Tommy Freeman (Northampton), George Furbank (Northampton), Ollie Lawrence (Bath), Alex Lozowski (Saracens), Luke Northmore (Harlequins), Harry Randall (Bristol), Henry Slade (Exeter), Ollie Sleightholme (Northampton), Fin Smith (Northampton), Marcus Smith (Harlequins), Ben Spencer (Bath), Freddie Steward (Leicester), Jack van Poortvliet (Leicester).