Saints lock Coles added to England squad ahead of New Zealand clash

The 25-year-old will join up with the 36-man group this week ahead of their first Test against New Zealand, which takes place at Allianz Stadium, Twickenham on Saturday (kick-off 3.10pm).

Coles returned from injury in Saints’ 31-23 defeat at Bristol Bears on Friday night, captaining the side in the Gallagher Premiership for the first time.

And now Coles, who already has seven England caps to his name, will link up with Saints team-mates Trevor Davison, Tommy Freeman, George Furbank, Ollie Sleightholme and Fin Smith, who have all spent a week within the England setup already.

Coles joins the squad as Tom Roebuck (Sale Sharks), Charlie Ewels (Bath Rugby) and Ollie Chessum (Leicester Tigers) are all released from the squad – with Chessum awaiting further assessment on a knee injury, and Ewels currently following return-to-play protocols.

England face New Zealand this weekend before taking on Australia, South Africa and Japan.

England squad

Forwards: Fin Baxter (Harlequins), Dan Cole (Leicester Tigers), Alex Coles (Saints), Luke Cowan-Dickie (Sale Sharks), Chandler Cunningham-South (Harlequins), Ben Curry (Sale Sharks), Tom Curry (Sale Sharks), Theo Dan (Saracens), Trevor Davison (Saints), Alex Dombrandt (Harlequins), Ben Earl (Saracens), Ellis Genge (Bristol Bears), Jamie George (Saracens), Ted Hill (Bath Rugby), Nick Isiekwe (Saracens), Maro Itoje (Saracens), Joe Marler (Harlequins), George Martin (Leicester Tigers), Will Stuart (Bath Rugby), Sam Underhill (Bath Rugby).

Backs: Elliot Daly (Saracens), Immanuel Feyi-Waboso (Exeter Chiefs), George Ford (Sale Sharks), Tommy Freeman (Saints), George Furbank (Saints), Ollie Lawrence (Bath Rugby), Alex Lozowski (Saracens), Luke Northmore (Harlequins), Harry Randall (Bristol Bears), Henry Slade (Exeter Chiefs), Ollie Sleightholme (Saints), Fin Smith (Saints), Marcus Smith (Harlequins), Ben Spencer (Bath Rugby), Freddie Steward (Leicester Tigers), Jack van Poortvliet (Leicester Tigers).