Owen Farrell Excluded from England’s Training Camp: End of an Era?
Coach Steve Borthwick has surprised the rugby world by leaving Owen Farrell out of England’s initial squad for the autumn series. This decision is even more unexpected if we consider Farrell’s recent inclusion in the British and Irish Lions’ summer tour of Australia.
Farrell’s return to the Saracens for next season had made him eligible for consideration, but Borthwick has opted for other options on this occasion.
Another notable absence from the 36-player list is captain Maro Itoje, who is in the process of recovering after suffering a concussion in the Lions’ last match.
Itoje, although present at the three-day camp in Surrey, will not participate in the on-field activities.
The 30-year-old Lions captain failed a HIA test after 27 minutes of the third match against the Wallabies in Sydney on August 2 and has remained sidelined from training as Borthwick prepares the strategy to face Australia, Fiji, New Zealand and Argentina this autumn.
The England Lions stars will miss the first two rounds of the Premier League as part of the mandatory rest period following the tour. Saracens have given Itoje an additional week of rest before he rejoins the pre-season.Owen Farrell no participará en el primer campamento de Inglaterra antes de la serie de otoño.While there is no concern about Itoje’s availability for the autumn, the chances of Farrell participating have diminished with his absence from the camp.
Last month, he was overlooked for one of England’s 25 elite player contracts, despite swapping Racing 92 for Saracens and proving his fitness as a late call-up for the Lions tour.
Borthwick has revealed his options for the fly-halves, selecting George Ford, Fin Smith, and Marcus Smith. For the centers, he has chosen Ollie Lawrence, Seb Atkinson, and Fraser Dingwall.
Tom Curry, Elliot Daly, Immanuel Feyi-Waboso and Will Stuart join Itoje at the camp to rehabilitate injuries alongside England’s medical team.
England Squad Announcement of 36 Players
Forwards: Fin Baxter (Harlequins) Jamie Blamire (Leicester Tigers) Ollie Chessum (Leicester Tigers) Alex Coles (Northampton Saints) Luke Cowan-Dickie (Sale Sharks) Chandler Cunningham-South (Harlequins) Ben Curry (Sale Sharks) Ben Earl (Saracens) Charlie Ewels (Bath Rugby) Ellis Genge (Bristol Bears) Jamie George (Saracens) Joe Heyes (Leicester Tigers) Ted Hill (Bath Rugby) Asher Opoku-Fordjour (Sale Sharks) Guy Pepper (Bath Rugby) Henry Pollock (Northampton Saints) Bevan Rodd (Sale Sharks) Sam Underhill (Bath Rugby) Tom Willis (Saracens)Backs: Seb Atkinson (Gloucester Rugby) Oscar Beard (Harlequins) Fraser Dingwall (Northampton Saints) George Ford (Sale Sharks) Tommy Freeman (Northampton Saints) George Furbank (Northampton Saints) Ollie Lawrence (Bath Rugby) Alex Mitchell (Northampton Saints) Will Muir (Bath Rugby) Cadan Murley (Harlequins) Tom Roebuck (Sale Sharks) Henry Slade (Exeter Chiefs) Fin Smith (Northampton Saints) Marcus Smith (Harlequins) Ben Spencer (Bath Rugby) Freddie Steward (Leicester Tigers) Jack van Poortvliet (Leicester Tigers)
