Manu Tuilagi left out of England squad as Eddie Jones names 34 players for Brighton training camp

Injured pair Billy Vunipola and Maro Itoje are included while James Haskell earns a recall with Sam Underhill still absent through concussion

Eddie Jones has left Manu Tuilagi out of his 34-man England squad (Getty)

Manu Tuilagi has been left out of Eddie Jones’ 34-man England squad that will take part in a two-day training camp ahead of the Six Nations, with Saracens’ injured forwards Billy Vunipola and Maro Itoje both included alongside uncapped Bath prop Beno Obano and former Scotland Under-20s flanker Gary Graham.

Leicester Tigers centre Tuilagi has completed two 80-minute outings for his club this month since returning from his latest knee injury, but has been overlooked by Jones as he prepares his squad for the Six Nations.

The inclusion of Vunipola comes as something of a surprise given that he remains sidelined with a knee injury that will keep him out of Saturday’s encounter against Worcester Warriors, having been out of action since September and making just two appearances since the end of last season after missing the British and Irish Lions tour.

Itoje is, like Vunipola, due to return to action in January, but as he is recovering from a fractured jaw, the second-row-cum-flanker is able to participate in non-contact training and as such has been included by Jones for the training camp, which takes place in Brighton on 1 and 2 January, and will be the head coach’s first opportunity to assess his players for the Six Nations with a week-long trip to Portugal also planned later in January.

“This camp in Brighton is important for us to set the tone as a squad ahead of the Six Nations,” Jones said. “We will need to improve if we are to hunt down our opponents and beat them. This tournament will be exciting and challenging, as we know we will play against some very strong teams.

“Brighton will provide a great base to begin our preparations with players coming away with a clear plan for our opening match of the campaign against Italy.”

The two new call-ups sees 23-year-old Bath prop Obano and Newcastle’s 25-year-old back-row Graham – son of former Newcastle and Scotland prop George Graham – included, with the former named in place of injured Leicester loosehead prop Ellis Genge, while Saracens wing Nathan Earle is also included having made his one and only appearance for England in the non-cap game against the Barbarians last summer. Uncapped Bath hooker Tom Dunn is also included, having been a part of the squad throughout the autumn internationals behind captain Dylan Hartley and Jamie George.

James Haskell has earned a recall to the squad (Getty)

Wasps flanker James Haskell returns for the first time since being dropped for the autumn internationals as Bath’s Sam Underhill remains absent with the concussion that he suffered in November, while Courtney Lawes, one of the form England players of 2017, is left out due to personal reasons. Kyle Sinckler, who served a seven-week ban for eye-gouging that ruled him out of England’s wins over Argentina, Australia and Samoa last month, is also recalled.

Northampton’s Piers Francis remains in the squad despite his less than impressive start to the season with Northampton Saints – who on Friday named Australian Alan Gaffney as their new coach until the end of the 2017/18 campaign to replace Jim Mallinder – but there is no space for Alex Lozowski despite being ahead of Francis in the pecking order for the autumn tests last month.

Jones will lead a 34-man squad through a two-day training camp in Brighton (Getty)

Long-term injury concerns Elliot Daly and Nathan Hughes are left out, while Harlequins fly-half Marcus Smith and Bath No 8 Zach Mercer are included as apprentice players once again.

England begin their Six Nations campaign in Rome against Italy on 4 February before the hotly-anticipated clash with Wales at Twickenham on 10 February. Jones’ side the face consecutive away games against Scotland and France, before wrapping up the championship with the visit of Ireland back at Twickenham on 17 March.