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Manu Tuilagi has withdrawn from the England squad 41 hours after call-up
By Liam Heagney
Sale midfielder Manu Tuilagi has been withdrawn from the England squad 41 hours after he was included in the 5pm Sunday update published by the RFU. Following last weekend's results in the Gallagher Premiership semi-finals, seven players from the two beaten teams were called up by Eddie Jones.
Bristol, who dramatically lost to Harlequins after extra-time, provided Will Capon, Max Malins and Harry Randall while Sale, who lost at Exeter, had four selections in Ben Curry, Curtis Langdon, Bevan Rodd and Tuilagi.
However, that Sale representation has now been reduced to three following a Tuesday morning update from the RFU with Jones' squad gathering for the summer series which commences with next Sunday's A-team match versus Scotland A at Leicester.
A statement read: "Manu Tuilagi has withdrawn from the England squad after picking up an injury during Sale Sharks' Gallagher Premiership semi-final at the weekend. Northampton Saints’ Fraser Dingwall has been called up and has joined the squad at The Lensbury, Teddington."
Last capped in March 2020, there was no initial indication regarding what type of injury Tuilagi had or whether it was so serious that he is now no longer a possible Lions tour standby pick, but it was later revealed that he had suffered a minor hamstring strain at Sandy Park and would be stood down for all three England matches.
The inclusion of the uncapped 22-year-old Dingwall is another boost for Northampton, who also had George Furbank and Ollie Sleightholme picked last Sunday to link up with the squad this week ahead of a series that will also feature July Test games at Twickenham versus the USA and Canada.
REVISED ENGLAND SQUAD
Forwards (21)
Jamie Blamire (Newcastle Falcons, uncapped)
Will Capon (Bristol Bears, uncapped)
Callum Chick (Newcastle Falcons, uncapped)
Ben Curry (Sale Sharks, uncapped)
Trevor Davison (Newcastle Falcons, uncapped)
Charlie Ewels (Bath Rugby, 21 caps)
Ellis Genge (Leicester Tigers, 28 caps)
Joe Heyes (Leicester Tigers, uncapped)
Paul Hill (Northampton Saints, 5 caps)
Ted Hill (Worcester Warriors, 1 cap)
Curtis Langdon (Sale Sharks, uncapped)
Lewis Ludlam (Northampton Saints, 8 caps)
Lewis Ludlow (Gloucester Rugby, uncapped)
Josh McNally (Bath Rugby, uncapped)
George Martin (Leicester Tigers, 1 cap)
Chunya Munga (London Irish, uncapped)
Beno Obano (Bath Rugby, 1 cap)
Miles Reid (Bath Rugby, uncapped)
Bevan Rodd (Sale Sharks, uncapped)
Sam Underhill (Bath Rugby, 22 caps)
Harry Wells (Leicester Tigers, uncapped)
Backs (15)
Josh Bassett (Wasps, uncapped)
Joe Cokanasiga (Bath Rugby, 9 caps)
Fraser Dingwall (Northampton Saints, uncapped)
George Furbank (Northampton Saints, 3 caps)
Dan Kelly (Leicester Tigers, uncapped)
Ollie Lawrence (Worcester Warriors, 6 caps)
Max Malins (Bristol Bears, 7 caps)
Alex Mitchell (Northampton Saints, uncapped)
Max Ojomoh (Bath Rugby, uncapped)
Adam Radwan (Newcastle Falcons, uncapped)
Harry Randall (Bristol Bears, uncapped)
Dan Robson (Wasps, 12 caps)
Ollie Sleightholme (Northampton Saints, uncapped)
Freddie Steward (Leicester Tigers, uncapped)
Jacob Umaga (Wasps, uncapped)
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I guess the other option would be to start ALB, he's looked good in the 12 so far when he starts and sets up those outside him. But that would mean putting the vice captain on the bench, which is unlikely. Another option would be to drop Reiko to the bench and play Proctor, though he's gone home so that's not going to happen either.
Both of those players just offer more of the soft distribution skills good centres learn from playing their careers there. Unfortunately that's what's lacking with the current combo.
Go to commentsWhatever let's see if this load of waffle is still valid in 2 years time. ABs will rise we have a lot of new talent coming through. The NPC was the highest standard for years. The game is changing to suit the fast pace we like to play. We get to play the Springboks more, including the franchises, which will make us better! Overall I am optimistic. I will add having watched the England game multiple times we made most of the play. England are an awesome physical team, but you can expect the All Blacks to get better and better at executing the chances. It could easily have been 5 tries to one instead of 3 to 1.
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