Manu Tuilagi, Dylan Hartley and Chris Ashton are back.
Three characters with more run-ins with authority than Justin Bieber.
However, like Bieber, the trio are en vogue and getting credit for recent performances.
New England coach Eddie Jones has included the three players in 33-man squad for the upcoming Six Nations.
Jones, who coached Japan in the World Cup, has also named seven uncapped players – including Ollie Devoto and Sam Hill – in his first, extended training squad ahead of a tricky away date with Scotland.
Here it is! Eddie Jones' first England squad. What do you make of it? https://t.co/g75HPlJWMr #carrythemhome 🌹 pic.twitter.com/741dGrrDZR
— England Rugby (@EnglandRugby) January 13, 2016
Jones has yet to officially select his captain although the frontrunners are Chris Robshaw, Joe Launchbury and Hartley. He said:
“We have selected a squad of players who we think can go to Murrayfield and win. This is our number one priority, to start with a win, so we have picked a squad which is a mix of experience and potential.
“The long-term strategy for England is to develop a side who can be the most dominant team in world rugby, so we have chosen a lot of new players on the growth we see in them.
“We see these players growing into England players of the future and developing into a side who can be the best in the world. Our aim is to develop a squad where there is depth and competition in every position.”
Tuilagi, who was injured at the time, was dropped from England’s World Cup reckoning after an alleged altercation with English police – a claim he has strongly denied. The centre’s forceful but fair tackle on David Wallace, in 2011, led to the flanker missing the World Cup.
Ashton has faced Ireland four times and finished on the winning side on three occasions. Last year, he was involved in a dust-up with Sean O’Brien while on England Saxons duty.
Hartley has a spotty history when it comes to Ireland. He was suspended for eight weeks, in 2012, for biting Stephen Ferris while, later that year, he was in trouble again for an elbow on Rory Best. In last year’s Six Nations, he copped some flak for shoving an injured Robbie Henshaw to the turf.
https://vine.co/v/O2lpprP6tdi
We look forward to being reacquainted all three on February 27 in Twickenham.
