Eight uncapped players in England squad

Eight uncapped players have made Eddie Jones' squad of 35 for their Six Nations opener against Italy on February 4.

Loosehead props Alec Hepburn of Exeter Chiefs and Lewis Boyce of Harlequins are promoted in the absence of Joe Marler, Ellis Genge and Beno Obano.

Elsewhere, there are places for pacey Saracens wing Nathan Earle and Northampton Saints playmaker Harry Mallinder - both of whom toured Argentina last summer without winning a cap.

Newcastle Falcons back-rower Gary Graham continues his involvements, as do Bath hooker Tom Dunn, Harlequins fly-half Marcus Smith and Zach Mercer.

Significantly, Bath back-rower Mercer has been stripped of his 'apprentice' tag, paving the way for a Test debut in Rome

In a victory for the RFU's player pathway, six of these rookies - all except Dunn and Graham - have featured for England Under-20 over the past five years. 

Intriguingly, Exeter Chief Jack Nowell is listed as an 'inside back', having spent his entire international career to date on the wing.

England squad

Backs

Full backs
Mike Brown (Harlequins) Nathan Earle (Saracens)* Harry Mallinder (Northampton Saints)* Jonny May (Leicester Tigers) Denny Solomona (Sale Sharks) Anthony Watson (Bath Rugby)  

Inside backs
Danny Care (Harlequins) Owen Farrell (Saracens) George Ford (Leicester Tigers) Jonathan Joseph (Bath Rugby) Alex Lozowski (Saracens) Jack Nowell (Exeter Chiefs) Henry Slade (Exeter Chiefs) Ben Te’o (Worcester Warriors) Marcus Smith (Harlequins) * ** Ben Youngs (Leicester Tigers)  

Forwards  

Back five
Gary Graham (Newcastle Falcons)* Nick Isiekwe (Saracens)  Maro Itoje (Saracens)  George Kruis (Saracens) Courtney Lawes (Northampton Saints) Joe Launchbury (Wasps) Zach Mercer (Bath Rugby)* Chris Robshaw (Harlequins) Sam Simmonds (Exeter Chiefs) Sam Underhill (Bath Rugby)  

Front row
Lewis Boyce (Harlequins)* Dan Cole (Leicester Tigers) Tom Dunn (Bath Rugby)* Jamie George (Saracens) Dylan Hartley (Northampton Saints) Alec Hepburn (Exeter Chiefs) * Kyle Sinckler (Harlequins) Mako Vunipola (Saracens) Harry Williams (Exeter Chiefs)

Uncapped * Apprentice player **

Players unavailable Tom Curry (Sale Sharks) Elliot Daly (Wasps) Charlie Ewels (Bath Rugby) Piers Francis (Northampton Saints) Ellis Genge (Leicester Tigers) James Haskell (Wasps) Nathan Hughes (Wasps) Joe Marler (Harlequins) Matt Mullan (Wasps) Beno Obano (Bath Rugby) Semesa Rokoduguni (Bath Rugby) Will Spencer (Worcester Warriors) Billy Vunipola (Saracens)

Source: AFP