Five Test players named in England A team, including Charlie Ewels

England have named an A team to take Portugal this Sunday in Leicester that includes eight players – including skipper Charlie Ewels – who have been training with Steve Borthwick’s senior team in recent weeks.

Along with Max Ojomoh, Harry Randall and Joe Heyes, Ewels was one of four players added to George Skivington’s A squad on Tuesday evening following two days of training at Pennyhill with the senior squad ahead of their game against Scotland in the Guinness Six Nations.

They were joined at Loughborough University by Oscar Beard, Will Muir, Jamie Blamire and Tom Pearson, another quartet with Six Nations training involvement this month.

Skipper Ewels, who is one of five Test-capped players in the A team, is the sole link with the last England side that played at this level eight years ago as he was a starting lock when the then-named Saxons defeated South Africa A in George in 2016.

Aside from Ewels, the other four Test players in Sunday's starting XV are Randall, Blamire, Heyes and Pearson. Of the match day 23 for the Mattioli Woods Welford Road fixture, 17 have come through the RFU men’s pathway system with caps at either England U18 or U20 age-grade level.

Head coach Skivington said: "It’s been great to get together with the group this week at Loughborough and I have been really impressed by the high standards they have shown. We have put the boys through a challenging programme that has tested them to the intense rigor that Portugal will arrive with on Sunday.

“Our visitors are in the midst of the Rugby Europe Championship and will no doubt be using Sunday as an opportunity to experiment, but their strength as a union has been evident recently. They will certainly provide a stern test for us, but it’s a test that the players and the coaching staff are relishing.

"I’m really excited to see the side take to the field against Portugal on Sunday. I really believe we have assembled a squad that possesses some of the most exciting developing talent the Gallagher Premiership has to offer, and I’m sure they’ll put on a show for the fans in Leicester.”

England (vs Portugal, Sunday)

15. Josh Hodge (Exeter Chiefs, Vale of Lune RUFC)

14. Cadan Murley (Harlequins, Wadebridge Camels RFC)

13. Oscar Beard (Harlequins, Farnham RUFC)

12. Max Ojomoh (Bath Rugby, Chippenham RFC)

11. Will Muir (Bath Rugby, Guisborough RUFC)

10. Charlie Atkinson (Gloucester Rugby, Oxford RFC)

9. Harry Randall (Bristol Bears, Tycroes RFC, 6 caps)

1. Fin Baxter (Harlequins, Cobham RFC)

2. Jamie Blamire (Newcastle Falcons, Seaton Rangers ARLFC, 7 caps)

3. Joe Heyes (Leicester Tigers, Nottingham Moderns RFC & Newark RFC, 7 caps)

4. Rusiate Tuima (Exeter Chiefs, Devonport Services RFC)

5. Charlie Ewels (capt) (Bath Rugby, Bournemouth Rugby, 30 caps)

6. Tom Pearson (Northampton Saints, Bromyard Rugby Club, 1 cap)

7. Guy Pepper (Newcastle Falcons, Barnard Castle Rugby Club)

8. Alfie Barbeary (Bath Rugby, Banbury RUFC)

Replacements:

16. Sam Riley (Harlequins, Chobham RFC)

17. Tarek Haffar (Northampton Saints, Grasshoppers RFC)

18. Josh Iosefa-Scott (Exeter Chiefs, Melville Rugby)

19. Ben Bamber (Sale Sharks, Langworthy Reds ARLFC)

20. Greg Fisilau (Exeter Chiefs, Devonport Services RFC)

21. Caolan Englefield (Gloucester Rugby, Old Rutlishians Rugby)

22. Jamie Shillcock (Leicester Tigers, Southam RUFC)

23. Oliver Hartley (Saracens, Hammersmith and Fulham Rugby Club)