Six Nations: Courtney Lawes returns for England as uncapped Paolo Odogwu and Harry Randall are called up

Owen Farrell will captain the defending champions’ 28-man squad

Friday 22 January 2021 17:19 GMT

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The uncapped Paolo Odogwu and Harry Randall have been called up by England for the Six Nations.

Wasps winger Odogwu, 23, and Bristol scrum-half Randall, also 23, were named in Eddie Jones’ 28-man squad for the competition on Friday, with Courtney Lawes returning from injury.

Meanwhile, Owen Farrell will captain the side as expected.

Elliot Daly and Anthony Watson will both hope to receive their 50th caps during the course of the tournament, while Beno Obano could get his first.

England players will meet at St. George’s Park next Wednesday before moving to their Lensbury base in Teddington ahead of their Six Nations opener against Scotland at Twickenham on 6 February.

England will keep a 28-player squad throughout the competition following an agreement with Premiership Rugby, the RPA and the RFU due to challenges caused by coronavirus.

“This has been a really tough squad to pick and I know there are a lot of disappointed players who haven’t been selected,” head coach Jones said.

“We’re really excited by the players we have got, it’s a very vibrant squad and we are looking forward to getting started next week.

“We’re very grateful to Premiership Rugby, the clubs and the RPA for allowing us to have 28 players throughout the tournament, we’re very happy with the number and it’s testament to the growing relationships between all parties.

“Ultimately our goal is to win the Six Nations and to do that we’ll need to work hard, prepare well each day and take it as it comes.”

Jones also named a 12-player shadow squad, which will be adhere to the same testing protocols as the main squad.

Mako Vunipola will join the squad to undertake rehab during the tournament.

Following the Calcutta Cup against Scotland, defending champions England will host Italy on 13 February before travelling to Wales for their third match of the competition on 27 February.

England will then host France at Twickenham on 13 March before playing their final match of this year’s Six Nations in Dublin versus Ireland on 20 March.

England squad

Backs:

Elliot Daly (Saracens) – 47 caps

Owen Farrell (Saracens) – 88 caps

George Ford (Leicester Tigers) – 72 caps

Ollie Lawrence (Worcester Warriors) – 3 caps

Max Malins (Bristol Bears) – 3 caps

Jonny May (Gloucester Rugby) – 61 caps

Paolo Odogwu (Wasps) – uncapped

Harry Randall (Bristol Bears) – uncapped

Dan Robson (Wasps) – 7 caps

Henry Slade (Exeter Chiefs) – 34 caps

Anthony Watson (Bath) – 46 caps

Ben Youngs (Leicester Tigers) – 104 caps

Forwards:

Luke Cowan-Dickie (Exeter Chiefs) – 26 caps

Tom Curry (Sale Sharks) – 28 caps

Ben Earl (Bristol Bears) – 8 caps

Ellis Genge (Leicester Tigers) – 23 caps

Jamie George (Saracens) – 54 caps

Jonny Hill (Exeter Chiefs) – 4 caps

Maro Itoje (Saracens) – 43 caps

Joe Launchbury (Wasps) – 69 caps

Courtney Lawes (Northampton Saints) – 85 caps

Joe Marler (Harlequins) – 72 caps

Beno Obano (Bath) – uncapped

Will Stuart (Bath) – 8 caps

Sam Underhill (Bath) – 22 caps

Billy Vunipola (Saracens) – 56 caps

Harry Williams (Exeter Chiefs) – 18 caps

Mark Wilson (Newcastle Falcons) – 19 caps

Shadow squad:

Charlie Atkinson (Wasps) – uncapped

Ali Crossdale (Saracens) – uncapped

Tom Dunn (Bath) – 3 caps

Charlie Ewels (Bath) – 17 caps

George Furbank (Northampton Saints) – 3 caps

Joe Heyes (Leicester Tigers) – uncapped

Jonathan Joseph (Bath) – 54 caps

Joe Marchant (Harlequins) – 4 caps

George Martin (Leicester Tigers) – uncapped

Alex Mitchell (Northampton Saints) – uncapped

Jacob Umaga (Wasps) – uncapped

Jack Willis (Wasps) – 2 caps

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