Saints skipper Wood earns England recall

Saints skipper Tom Wood has been handed an England recall for the upcoming autumn international series.
Tom Wood (picture: Kirsty Edmonds)Tom Wood (picture: Kirsty Edmonds)
Tom Wood (picture: Kirsty Edmonds)

Wood, who has 42 caps to his name, has not played for the Red Rose since Eddie Jones took over, but he has been named in the squad as an injury replacement for Leicester flanker Mike Williams.

Teimana Harrison is also in as injury cover, for Wasps back row forward James Haskell, while Dylan Hartley and Courtney Lawes complete the Saints representation.

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There is no place for props Paul Hill and Kieran Brookes or centre Luther Burrell.

The 33 players included in the squad will fly to Portugal on Sunday, October 30 for a week of specific training before returning to England’s base at Pennyhill Park to prepare for the opening game against South Africa at Twickenham Stadium on Saturday, November 12.

England will then face Fiji, Argentina and Australia on successive weekends, with the clash against the Wallabies coming on the same day as Saints’ Aviva Premiership derby date at Leicester Tigers.

“With a number of influential players missing through injury we have two weeks to prepare a robust and resilient team to meet the challenges set for us in the Old Mutual Wealth Series.” said England head coach Jones.

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“Our training camp in Portugal is a great opportunity to spend a week together, focus on putting our game plans in place and for new players to understand the England way.

“We’re looking forward to being back in front of a passionate Twickenham crowd and I’m confident we can prepare well and put together a matchday 23 which is full of pride, energy and commitment to give South Africa the game of their lives.”

On Wood’s recall, Jones said: “Tom Wood is like Samson. He gets stronger with long hair and a beard.”

England’s 33-man squad for Old Mutual Wealth Series

Forwards: Dave Attwood (Bath Rugby) *injury replacement for George Kruis (Saracens), Dan Cole (Leicester Tigers), Charlie Ewels (Bath Rugby), Ellis Genge (Leicester Tigers), Jamie George (Saracens), Teimana Harrison (Saints) *injury replacement for James Haskell (Wasps), Dylan Hartley (Saints), Nathan Hughes (Wasps), Joe Launchbury (Wasps), Courtney Lawes (Saints), Joe Marler (Harlequins), Ben Morgan (Gloucester Rugby) *injury replacement for Jack Clifford (Harlequins), Chris Robshaw (Harlequins), Kyle Sinckler (Harlequins), Tommy Taylor (Wasps), Billy Vunipola (Saracens), Mako Vunipola (Saracens), Tom Wood (Saints) *injury replacement for Mike Williams (Leicester Tigers)

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Backs: Mike Brown (Harlequins), Danny Care (Harlequins), Elliot Daly (Wasps), Owen Farrell (Saracens), George Ford (Bath Rugby), Alex Goode (Saracens), Mike Haley (Sale Sharks), Jonathan Joseph (Bath Rugby), Alex Lozowski (Saracens), Jonny May (Gloucester Rugby), Semesa Rokoduguni (Bath Rugby), Henry Slade (Exeter Chiefs), Ben Te’o (Worcester Warriors), Marland Yarde (Harlequins) *injury replacement for Anthony Watson (Bath Rugby), Ben Youngs (Leicester Tigers)

Injured players not considered for selection: Jack Clifford (Harlequins), Luke Cowan-Dickie (Exeter Chiefs), James Haskell (Wasps) , Maro Itoje (Saracens), Sam Jones (Wasps), George Kruis (Saracens), Jack Nowell (Exeter Chiefs), Manu Tuilagi (Leicester Tigers), Anthony Watson (Bath Rugby), Mike Williams (Leicester Tigers)