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Joseph added to England squad

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Jonathan Joseph will join up with England on their training camp in Portugal after proving his fitness on his return from injury.

Jonathan Joseph will join up with England on their training camp in Portugal after proving his fitness on his return from injury.

The centre has been added to the squad that will prepare for the start of the 2019 Guinness Six Nations away in Ireland on February 2.

Joseph had been out of action for nine months, but made his return for club side Bath in their European clash with Toulouse last weekend.

As a result, the 27-year-old comes into the squad, while Joe Launchbury, Brad Shields and Owen Farrell are also included despite some injury concerns over the weekend.

England fly to Portugal on Wednesday, with Jones hoping to get his team on the same wavelength ahead of the encounter with last year’s Grand Slam champions.

When Jones named his initial squad he said: “We are looking forward to getting across to Portugal and having a good ten-day preparation for the Ireland game.

“The first thing when we get together as a squad is to get our cohesion back. The players have been playing for their clubs with different styles and different playing philosophies, so it’s about getting them thinking about playing the England way. The second thing is to get our togetherness stronger to work as hard as we can to make sure we are well connected on and off the field so Portugal is an important camp for us.”

A matchday squad of 25 players will travel to Dublin on Thursday January 31 ahead of the opening game at the Aviva Stadium.

36-man England squad for Ireland Test

Forwards Jack Clifford (Harlequins), Dan Cole (Leicester Tigers), Luke Cowan-Dickie (Exeter Chiefs), Tom Curry (Sale Sharks), Ben Earl (Saracens), Ellis Genge (Leicester Tigers), Jamie George (Saracens), Nathan Hughes (Wasps), Maro Itoje (Saracens), George Kruis (Saracens), Joe Launchbury (Wasps), Courtney Lawes (Northampton Saints), Ben Moon (Exeter Chiefs), Brad Shields (Wasps), Kyle Sinckler (Harlequins), Jack Singleton (Worcester Warriors), Billy Vunipola (Saracens), Mako Vunipola (Saracens), Harry Williams (Exeter Chiefs), Mark Wilson (Newcastle Falcons).

Backs Chris Ashton (Sale Sharks), Mike Brown (Harlequins), Joe Cokanasiga (Bath Rugby), Elliot Daly (Wasps), Ollie Devoto (Exeter Chiefs), Owen Farrell (Saracens), George Ford (Leicester Tigers), Jonathan Joseph (Bath Rugby), Jonny May (Leicester Tigers), Jack Nowell (Exeter Chiefs), Dan Robson (Wasps), Henry Slade (Exeter Chiefs), Ben Te’o (Worcester Warriors), Ollie Thorley (Gloucester Rugby), Manu Tuilagi (Leicester Tigers), Ben Youngs (Leicester Tigers).