A seven-man contingent of Northampton Saints will head to Japan and then New Zealand for a three-Test tour, with Alex Coles, Fraser Dingwall, Tommy Freeman, George Furbank, Alex Mitchell, Ollie Sleightholme and Fin Smith named amongst the 36-player squad.
Fresh from lifting the Gallagher Premiership trophy on Saturday after defeating Bath Rugby 25-21 in the showpiece event at Twickenham Stadium, the group have linked up with England’s squad alongside five players from fellow finalist club Bath.
Sleightholme – who scored his 16th try of the season for Saints in the Final on Saturday – is among six uncapped players named in the squad that takes on Japan on 22 June, before embarking on a two-Test tour of New Zealand in July.
Centre Dingwall and fly-half Smith, who both made their international debuts in the Six Nations back in March, will be hoping to add to their two and three caps respectively; while Freeman, Furbank and Mitchell join the 16 backs named in the squad for the tour.
Coles – who has five England caps to his name so far – is the only Saints forward to be named amongst the 36-man squad and joins his Saints teammates at Twickenham Stadium on Tuesday 11 June before flying to Tokyo.
Ahead of the squad coming together, England head coach Steve Borthwick said: “The Summer Series presents a valuable opportunity for the continued development of this squad and is a demanding challenge to conclude the season.”
“For some of the younger players, it will be their first time touring abroad with England. Travelling together is a great way to build closer bonds and provides an important opportunity for new players to settle into our environment.
“With the changes in climate, playing conditions, and contrasting styles of rugby from the two opponents we face, we will be challenged on and off the field.
“The National Stadium in Tokyo is an incredible venue for Test match rugby, and we will need to be at our very best against a Japanese team who will want to play fast.
“New Zealand’s home record is well documented, and we face a team who came within one point of winning a World Cup.
“Historically it is not a place England have had much success, but we are determined to change that. The players know that they will need to be mentally strong and tactically smart if we are to get the result we want.”
England squad for 2024 summer tour
FORWARDS
Fin Baxter (Harlequins, uncapped)
Dan Cole (Leicester Tigers, 112 caps)
Alex Coles (Northampton Saints, 5 caps)
Chandler Cunningham-South (Harlequins, 4 caps)
Ben Curry (Sale Sharks, 5 caps)
Tom Curry (Sale Sharks, 50 caps)
Theo Dan (Saracens, 12 caps)
Alex Dombrandt (Harlequins, 17 caps)
Ben Earl (Saracens, 30 caps)
Charlie Ewels (Bath Rugby, 30 caps)
Jamie George (Saracens, 90 caps) – captain
Joe Heyes (Leicester Tigers, 7 caps)
Maro Itoje (Saracens, 81 caps)
Joe Marler (Harlequins, 93 caps)
George Martin (Leicester Tigers, 12 caps)
Gabriel Oghre (Bristol Bears, uncapped)
Bevan Rodd (Sale Sharks, 5 caps)
Ethan Roots (Exeter Chiefs, 4 caps)
Will Stuart (Bath Rugby, 38 caps)
Sam Underhill (Bath Rugby, 35 caps)
BACKS
Joe Carpenter (Sale Sharks, uncapped)
Fraser Dingwall (Northampton Saints, 2 caps)
Immanuel Feyi-Waboso (Exeter Chiefs, 3 caps)
Tommy Freeman (Northampton Saints, 8 caps)
George Furbank (Northampton Saints, 9 caps)
Ollie Lawrence (Bath Rugby, 24 caps)
Alex Mitchell (Northampton Saints, 15 caps)
Luke Northmore (Harlequins, uncapped)
Harry Randall (Bristol Bears, 6 caps)
Tom Roebuck (Sale Sharks, uncapped)
Henry Slade (Exeter Chiefs, 62 caps)
Ollie Sleightholme (Northampton Saints, uncapped)
Fin Smith (Northampton Saints, 2 caps)
Marcus Smith (Harlequins, 32 caps)
Ben Spencer (Bath Rugby, 5 caps)
Freddie Steward (Leicester Tigers, 33 caps)
England’s Summer Series Matches:
- Japan v England, Saturday 22 June, National Stadium, kick-off 6.50am BST (RugbyPass TV)
- New Zealand v England, Saturday 6 July, Forsyth Barr Stadium, kick-off 8.05am BST (Sky Sports)
- New Zealand v England, Saturday 13 July, Eden Park, kick-off 8.05am BST (Sky Sports)
