Steve Borthwick confirmed his wider 36-man-squad to tour Japan and New Zealand this summer, with six potential England debutants named.
Fin Baxter, Joe Carpenter, Tom Roebuck, Ollie Sleightholme, Gabriel Oghre and Luke Northmore have all made the cut following impressive season’s in the Premiership.
Elsewhere, Tom and Ben Curry have returned to the fold after missing the Six Nations.
Whilst there are several high profile names in the squad, there are certainly some players who can feel hard done by to miss out on a place in the squad.
We’ve given our thoughts on four players who could have made the squad.
England Summer Series: Four players who should have made the squad
Trevor Davison
England are crying out for a solid tighthead right now, and Davison has been one of the best in the Premiership this season. Since arriving from Newcastle in March last year, Davison has gone onto become a mainstay in the Saints pack. He has made 27 appearances this season alone, including 24 starts as Northampton marched to the Premiership title. He has really improved in the set-piece since his switch to the East Midlands, and could have really competed with Dan Cole for that starting tighthead role.
READ MORE: Predicting the England starting XV following 36-man squad announcement
Ted HillÂ
The back-row is an incredibly competitive department as things stand, but the injury to Ollie Chessum did leave a vacancy on the blindside that Hill easily could have filled. Since returning from injury, Hill has re-established himself as one of the best flankers in the league, and his size would have also made him a great lineout option too.
Will MuirÂ
In a similar vain to Ted Hill, Muir is more a victim of great competition than anything else. The Bath winger has been brilliant all season for his club, and possesses similar skills to that of Freeman, Feyi-Waboso and Roebuck in he can generate momentum from nowhere. He’s big, powerful and quick, which is the perfect blend for a modern day winger. He will definitely get his chance soon though.
Rusi Tuima
Premiership Team of the Season member Rusi Tuima can feel slightly hard done by to not be involved this summer, but he will get his chance soon. Shifting into second-row has brought the best out of him, and has also made his skills from the back-row his points-of-difference. He is also of a similar ilk to Emmanuel Meafou or Will Skelton, and this blend of sheer size and joué cannot be overlooked for long.
England 36-player Summer Series squad in full
Forwards
Fin Baxter, Dan Cole, Alex Coles, Chandler Cunningham-South, Ben Curry, Tom Curry, Theo Dan, Alex Dombrandt, Ben Earl, Charlie Ewels, Jamie George, Joe Heyes, Maro Itoje, Joe Marler, George Martin, Gabriel Oghre, Bevan Rodd, Ethan Roots, Will Stuart, Sam Underhill
Backs
Joe Carpenter, Fraser Dingwall, Immanuel Feyi-Waboso, Tommy Freeman, George Furbank, Ollie Lawrence, Alex Mitchell, Luke Northmore, Harry Randall, Tom Roebuck, Henry Slade, Ollie Sleightholme, Fin Smith, Marcus Smith, Ben Spencer, Freddie Steward
