Harlequins trio Marcus Smith, Alex Dombrandt and Jack Kenningham named in England squad

Harlequins fly-half Marcus Smith will hope to impress for England this summer
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Will Macpherson29 June 2021

Eddie Jones has called up the uncapped trio Marcus Smith, Alex Dombrandt and Jack Kenningham for England’s summer Tests against the USA and Canada, two days after they played their part in Harlequinsstunning Premiership title win.

Jones has named a 37-strong squad for the two matches on July 4 and 10, with 23 of the players uncapped. One of them, London Irish lock Chunya Munga, is listed as an apprentice.

An England A side led by Gloucester’s Lewis Ludlow and coached by John Mitchell were due to play their Scottish counterparts in Leicester on Sunday, but a Covid-19 outbreak in the Scotland camp caused a cancellation.

Jones has refreshed his squad after the Premiership Final, adding four Quins (the three uncapped players plus centre Joe Marchant) and just one Exeter player, Henry Slade. He is the most experienced international in the squad, with 36 caps. With 12 players away with the Lions, Jones has also opted to give many senior players – such as Billy Vunipola, George Ford and Jonny May – a rest.

Despite the absence of Ford and Owen Farrell, there is no place for Joe Simmonds, the Exeter captain, with Smith and Jacob Umaga preferred as options at fly-half. Other Exeter players like Jack Nowell and Harry Williams are also not included.

The selections of Smith and Dombrandt come as no surprise as they have been at the heart of Quins’ stunning attacking form in recent weeks. Kenningham, the 21-year-old flanker, has come from left-field a little, but has also shown outstanding form.

Jones said: “This is the third and final phase of our selection. We have a squad here full of talent and potential, with 23 uncapped players who have the chance to make their England debut. We’ve had two good weeks working and training hard and now we look forward to seeing how far we can go.”

Jones will be keen to cap a series of players, such as Umaga and Harry Randall, who also qualify for other nations. That opportunity was denied England by the cancellation of the “A” fixture on Sunday.

England name their side to face the USA on Friday.

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