Stuart Lancaster
England head coach Stuart Lancaster has culled 5 players from his original wider squad for their next training camp in Denver.
The unlucky soles are Elliot Daly, Maro Itoje, Stephen Myler, Nick Easter and Ed Slater.
Daly, Slater, Itoje and Myler will return to their clubs to be on standby, while Easter is suffering from a back injury and will return to Harlequins for treatment, before rejoining the squad on 2 August following their post-Denver break.
Bad boy Danny Cipriani is still in the mix as Lancaster is waiting on the outcome of the drink-driving case before he makes a decision on the flyhalf.
England Head Coach Stuart Lancaster said: “Elliot and Maro have fitted in and trained well and it’s been great for them to be in this environment. They are both young players who have bright futures. They have made a great impression and I am sure other opportunities will come for both of them further down the line.
“Steve and Ed, likewise, have contributed greatly. Ed has done well to recover from his knee injury having missed the majority last season. However, there is a lot of competition in the 2nd row.
“Steve, who is in another really competitive position, has only recently been able to take a full part in training having injured his knee towards the end of last season. But he is getting up to speed now and I am sure he would be ready to come back in should the opportunity arise.
“I have spoken to all the players to explain that things can change very quickly and they can come back in at any point.
“Nick will stay for treatment on his back rather than risk aggravating it further with travel and we look forward to him re-joining the squad in August when we will review the squad and also consider those who have been unable to begin the camp after suffering injuries at the end of last season.
“The players have worked very hard for the past 3 weeks and there is a really good feel about the group. Denver is the next stage in our training, a chance to develop further in a different environment.”
England squad: Chris Ashton, Dave Attwood, Brad Barritt, Kieran Brookes, Mike Brown, Luther Burrell, Sam Burgess, Danny Care, Danny Cipriani, Calum Clark, Dan Cole, Alex Corbisiero, Luke Cowan-Dickie, Lee Dickson, Kyle Eastmond, Owen Farrell, George Ford, Alex Goode, Jamie George, James Haskell, Jonathan Joseph, Courtney Lawes, Joe Launchbury, George Kruis, Matt Kvesic, Joe Marler, Jonny May, Ben Morgan, Matt Mullan, Jack Nowell, Geoff Parling, Chris Robshaw, Semesa Rokoduguni, Henry Slade, Billy Twelvetrees, Mako Vunipola, Billy Vunipola, Anthony Watson, Rob Webber, Richard Wigglesworth, David Wilson, Tom Wood, Marland Yarde, Ben Youngs, Tom Youngs.
rugby365