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Elliot Daly released as England make two changes to squad for Japan
By Liam Heagney
Steve Borthwick has made two changes to his England squad of 36 with preparations now underway for their final match of the Autumn Nations Series this Sunday. The arrival of Eddie Jones’ Japan at Allianz Stadium, Twickenham will bring the curtain down on a four-match November programme that has so far witnessed defeats to New Zealand, Australia and South Africa.
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Last Saturday’s 29-20 reverse to the Springboks was the fifth game in a row where England were beaten, and they have lost six of their last seven and seven of their last nine when their results are stretched back to take into account this year’s Guinness Six Nations.
Borthwick, who is contracted through to the 2027 Rugby World Cup in Australia, insisted following last weekend’s latest setback that he believed he retained the full backing of the RFU and his planning for next Sunday’s home fixture with the Japanese began on Tuesday with a pair of alterations to his squad.
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Tom Curry, a starter versus Australia, has been recalled at the expense of a fit Charlie Ewels. Curry was concussed in the first half of the defeat to Wallabies and was excluded last week, but is now available for selection again.
Meanwhile, Cadan Murley, who scored twice in last Sunday’s 38-17 England A win over Australia A at The Stoop, has been called up due to an unspecified training ground injury sustained by Elliot Daly. Immanuel Feyi-Waboso, the winger left out of last week’s squad due to a concussion against Australia, is still going through his return to play protocol and has not been recalled.
Of the 36 players assembled at Pennyhill Park, four forwards – Alex Coles, Trevor Davison, Ted Hill and Asher Opoku-Fordjour – and four backs – Murley, Alex Lozowski, Luke Northmore and Fin Smith – have yet to be included in a match day 23 this November.
An RFU statement read: “Cadan Murley (Harlequins) and Tom Curry (Sale Sharks) have been called up to England’s 36-player squad, replacing Elliot Daly (Saracens) and Charlie Ewels (Bath Rugby) as preparations begin for the upcoming Test match against Japan at Allianz Stadium, Twickenham, on Sunday, November 24.”
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England squad (vs Japan, Sunday)
Forwards (20):
Fin Baxter (Harlequins)
Dan Cole (Leicester Tigers)
Alex Coles (Northampton Saints)
Luke Cowan-Dickie (Sale Sharks)
Chandler Cunningham-South (Harlequins)
Ben Curry (Sale Sharks)
Tom Curry (Sale Sharks)
Theo Dan (Saracens)
Trevor Davison (Northampton Saints)
Alex Dombrandt (Harlequins)
Ben Earl (Saracens)
Ellis Genge (Bristol Bears)
Jamie George (Saracens)
Ted Hill (Bath Rugby)
Nick Isiekwe (Saracens)
Maro Itoje (Saracens)
George Martin (Leicester Tigers)
Asher Opoku-Fordjour (Sale Sharks)
Will Stuart (Bath Rugby)
Sam Underhill (Bath Rugby)
Backs (16):
George Ford (Sale Sharks)
Tommy Freeman (Northampton Saints)
George Furbank (Northampton Saints)
Ollie Lawrence (Bath Rugby)
Alex Lozowski (Saracens)
Cadan Murley (Harlequins)
Luke Northmore (Harlequins)
Harry Randall (Bristol Bears)
Tom Roebuck (Sale Sharks)
Henry Slade (Exeter Chiefs)
Ollie Sleightholme (Northampton Saints)
Fin Smith (Northampton Saints)
Marcus Smith (Harlequins)
Ben Spencer (Bath Rugby)
Freddie Steward (Leicester Tigers)
Jack van Poortvliet (Leicester Tigers)
Not sure what could be gained from fielding the same team as the past few weeks and winning comfortably against Japan. So hopefully Steve Borthwick takes the opportunity to give some experience to a few others in the wider squad.
Asher Opoku-Fordjour in particular could benefit coming off the bench in the second half, and as the centres continue to be an issue for England I'd also like to see Luke Northmore given a chance to show if he has what it takes. At some stage we need to see if these players can hack it at International level, so I'd also include Davidson Murley, Roebuck, and Hill in the 23 otherwise why bother having them in endless squads... For what it's worth my choice would be...
15. Furbank
14. Murley
13. Northmore
12. Lawrence
11. Sleighthome
10. Smith (M)
9. Randall
1. Baxter
2. George
3. Stuart
4. Coles
5. Martin
6. Hill
7. Underhill
8. Earl
16. Opoku-Fordjour
17. Dan
18. Davidson
19. Itoji
20. Cunningham-South
21. Van-Poortfleet
22. Smith (F)
23. Roebuck