Billy Vunipola has continued his return to full fitness after being named in the England squad for a three-day training camp after missing the British & Irish Lions tour of New Zealand through a shoulder injury.
Head coach Eddie Jones named a 33-man squad for the camp in Oxford at the end of the week which includes the Saracens man, who also missed the start of the Aviva Premiership rugby season. His return to fitness will stand the Red Rose in good stead as they prepare for three internationals against Argentina, Australia and Samoa this November. Jones has also included eight Lions to the squad with Dan Cole, Mako Vunipola, Owen Farrell, Ben Te’o, Elliot Daly, Maro Itoje, Joe Marler and Courtney Lawes linking up with the squad after their summer exploits in New Zealand.
The England head coach said: “This camp in Oxford is a really positive opportunity for the group to come back together and sharpen our focus and preparation ahead of our first match against Argentina. “This is our most important game this year and we want the players to come away from camp having trained well with a clear plan of how we want to play and win against the Pumas.” Jones has also named two uncapped players for the three-day camp including 18-year-old Harlequins starlet Marcus Smith and Bath hooker Tom Dunn. England training squad for Oxford camp:
Forwards Dan Cole (Leicester Tigers) Tom Curry (Sale Sharks) Tom Dunn (Bath Rugby) Charlie Ewels (Bath Rugby) Ellis Genge (Leicester Tigers) Jamie George (Saracens) Dylan Hartley (Northampton Saints) Nathan Hughes (Wasps) Nick Isiekwe (Saracens) Maro Itoje (Saracens) Joe Launchbury (Wasps) Courtney Lawes (Northampton Saints) Joe Marler (Harlequins) Chris Robshaw (Harlequins) Sam Underhill (Bath Rugby) Harry Williams (Exeter Chiefs) Billy Vunipola (Saracens) Mako Vunipola (Saracens)
Backs Mike Brown (Harlequins) Danny Care (Harlequins) Elliot Daly (Wasps) Owen Farrell (Saracens) George Ford (Leicester Tigers) Piers Francis (Northampton Saints) Alex Lozowski (Saracens) Jonny May (Leicester Tigers) Jack Nowell (Exeter Chiefs) Henry Slade (Exeter Chiefs) Marcus Smith (Harlequins) Ben Te’o (Worcester Warriors) Anthony Watson (Bath Rugby) Marland Yarde (Harlequins) Ben Youngs (Leicester Tigers)