England rugby squad: Maro Itoje returns as Steve Borthwick names 36 for Nations Championship camp

Maro Itoje is back in the England rugby squad after Steve Borthwick named 36 players for a three-day training camp ahead of the Nations Championship. The captain returns after being given the summer off, and is one of several familiar names back in the group.

The squad assembled at England’s Performance Centre at Pennyhill Park on Sunday and will train there until Tuesday. England confirmed the camp is preparation for November’s Nations Championship fixtures against Australia, Japan and New Zealand.

Who is back in the England rugby squad?

As well as Itoje, Harlequins loosehead Fin Baxter returns after a 10-month injury lay-off, and Sale centre Joe Marchant is also recalled. Will Stuart, Ben Curry, Emmanuel Iyogun, Tom Pearson and Kepueli Tuipulotu also return.

Tuipulotu, the Bath forward, is one of two uncapped players in the group. The other is Northampton Saints scrum-half Archie McParland.

Spencer and Lawrence miss out

There are some notable absentees. Bath scrum-half Ben Spencer and centre Ollie Lawrence are not included, and according to RugbyPass, Ted Hill, Vilikesa Sela, Charlie Ewels, George Kloska and Theo Dan all drop out after featuring in the June window.

Chandler Cunningham-South and Benhard Janse van Rensburg were not considered because of injury. Seb Atkinson, Immanuel Feyi-Waboso and Guy Pepper will join the camp to continue their rehabilitation.

When do England play Australia?

England open their Nations Championship campaign against Australia at Allianz Stadium, Twickenham, on Sunday 8 November, before further games against Japan and New Zealand later in the month. A final squad for the November fixtures will be named in the coming weeks. Check our rugby on TV guide for kick-off times and channels closer to the time.

The camp comes after a busy weekend of Gallagher PREM action, including Harlequins’ 33-15 win over Saracens and Leicester’s 28-7 derby victory over Northampton. That game featured several of the players now heading into camp together.

England rugby squad in full

Forwards:

• Fin Baxter (Harlequins)
• Ollie Chessum (Leicester Tigers)
• Arthur Clark (Gloucester Rugby)
• Alex Coles (Northampton Saints)
• Luke Cowan-Dickie (Sale Sharks)
• Ben Curry (Sale Sharks)
• Tom Curry (Sale Sharks)
• Ben Earl (Saracens)
• Greg Fisilau (Exeter Chiefs)
• Jamie George (Saracens)
• Ellis Genge (Bristol Bears)
• Joe Heyes (Leicester Tigers)
• Maro Itoje (Saracens)
• Emmanuel Iyogun (Northampton Saints)
• George Martin (Saracens)
• Asher Opoku-Fordjour (Sale Sharks)
• Tom Pearson (Northampton Saints)
• Henry Pollock (Northampton Saints)
• Will Stuart (Bath Rugby)
• Kepueli Tuipulotu (Bath Rugby)

Backs:

• Noah Caluori (Saracens)
• Fraser Dingwall (Northampton Saints)
• George Ford (Sale Sharks)
• Tommy Freeman (Northampton Saints)
• George Furbank (Harlequins)
• Will Joseph (Gloucester Rugby)
• Joe Marchant (Sale Sharks)
• Archie McParland (Northampton Saints)
• Alex Mitchell (Northampton Saints)
• Cadan Murley (Harlequins)
• Max Ojomoh (Bath Rugby)
• Henry Slade (Exeter Chiefs)
• Fin Smith (Northampton Saints)
• Marcus Smith (Harlequins)
• Freddie Steward (Leicester Tigers)
• Jack van Poortvliet (Leicester Tigers)

Rehabilitation: Seb Atkinson (Gloucester Rugby), Immanuel Feyi-Waboso (Exeter Chiefs), Guy Pepper (Bath Rugby)

Full squad list via Sky Sports.