Chris Ashton Selected To England Training Squad

Chris Ashton has not played for England since 2014 and he believed his England career was over which led to his move to French side Toulon. However, the 31-year-old winger has since returned to play for Sale Sharks this summer and is back in the England setup after the training squad for the Autumn Tests was announced today.

Scorer of 19 tries in 39 Tests for England, Ashton will join the rest of the 44-man training squad at the Lansbury Hotel to participate in a camp running from the 4th to the 6th of August.

When asked about his decision to select Ashton, head coach Eddie Jones said; “Chris is an exceptional player, I think we have seen with his form at Saracens, then at Toulon he has played exceedingly well. He’s come back to England because he wants to play for England so he has got the right desire, the right attitude so it will be good to work with him.”

Additionally, with a number of players not selected due to rest and injuries, there are several new players and young rising English stars included in the camp. Gabriel Ibitoye (Harlequins), Joel Kpoku (Saracens), Jordan Olowofela (Leicester Tigers) and Michael Rhodes (Saracens) for example. The first three of those players featured in England’s U20 side that played at the recent World Championship in France and Jones added; “It is an opportunity for them to show us what they have got. We have identified those guys who can potentially play for England in the future so this is a great opportunity for them.”

“This is a pre-season camp so a lot of our players, particularly the ones who went on the South African tour, have just started training with their clubs so it’s just a chance to get a group of players together to have a chat about the season ahead and look at the important areas in developing the team. With just over 12 months until the Rugby World Cup, it is an important time.”

England and Jones are under a bit of pressure with nearly a year out from the World Cup. They had a poor Six Nations and then lost their June series to South Africa 2-1. Their Autumn tour is not easy either as they play the best of the Southern hemisphere. England will play four matches against South Africa (3 November), New Zealand (10 November), Japan (17 November) and Australia (24 November)

Below is the full list of players looking to get England back on track.

England 44-man training squad 

Backs
Chris Ashton (Sale Sharks)
Mike Brown (Harlequins)
Danny Cipriani (Gloucester Rugby)
Joe Cokanasiga (Bath Rugby)
Elliot Daly (Wasps)
Nathan Earle (Harlequins)
Owen Farrell (Saracens)
George Ford (Leicester Tigers)
Piers Francis (Northampton Saints)
Gabriel Ibitoye (Harlequins)
Alex Lozowski (Saracens)
Joe Marchant (Harlequins)
Jonny May (Leicester Tigers)
Jordan Olowofela (Leicester Tigers)
Dan Robson (Wasps)
Henry Slade (Exeter Chiefs)
Ben Spencer (Saracens)
Ben Te’o (Worcester Warriors)
Ben Youngs (Leicester Tigers)

Forwards
Luke Cowan-Dickie (Exeter Chiefs)
Tom Curry (Sale Sharks)
Jamie George (Saracens)
Dylan Hartley (Northampton Saints)
James Haskell (Northampton Saints)
Alec Hepburn (Exeter Chiefs)
Paul Hill (Northampton Saints)
Nathan Hughes (Wasps)
Nick Isiekwe (Saracens)
Maro Itoje (Saracens)
Joel Kpoku (Saracens)
Joe Launchbury (Wasps)
Courtney Lawes (Northampton Saints)
Joe Marler (Harlequins)
Michael Rhodes (Saracens)
Chris Robshaw (Harlequins)
Sam Simmonds (Exeter Chiefs)
Kyle Sinckler (Harlequins)
Jack Singleton (Worcester Warriors)
Will Spencer (Leicester Tigers)
Elliott Stooke (Bath Rugby)
Sam Underhill (Bath Rugby)
Mako Vunipola (Saracens)
Harry Williams (Exeter Chiefs)
Mark Wilson (Newcastle Falcons)

Not considered for selection due to injury/ fitness/ other
Danny Care (Harlequins)
Jack Clifford (Harlequins)
Dan Cole (Leicester Tigers)
Charlie Ewels (Bath Rugby)
Ellis Genge (Leicester Tigers)
Jonathan Joseph (Bath Rugby)
George Kruis (Saracens)
Jack Nowell (Exeter Chiefs)
Brad Shields (Wasps)
Denny Solomona (Sale Sharks)
Manu Tuilagi (Leicester Tigers)
Billy Vunipola (Saracens)
Anthony Watson (Bath Rugby)
Richard Wigglesworth (Saracens)

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