Joe Marchant back in England's squad as Will Joseph also named for Nations Championship
Joe Marchant has been recalled to England's training squad, his first call-up since the 2023 World Cup. The 30-year-old centre is one of 36 players preparing for next month's Nations Championship, the autumn series of international matches between the sport's top sides.
A centre is a midfield back, the player who often makes the hard carries and tackles in the middle of the field. Marchant was a regular for England under Steve Borthwick, starting at outside centre in the head coach's first game in February 2023. He then spent two years at Stade Français in Paris before returning to the Gallagher Premiership with Sale this season. The Guardian reports that his return to an English club made him available for England selection again.
He is not the only familiar name in the group. Will Joseph, a centre with Gloucester, has also been included. He is the younger brother of former England player Jonathan Joseph, and his only Test appearance, the match in which a national side plays a full international, came on England's 2022 tour of Australia. The Times described Joseph's selection as his first England call-up in three years.
Maro Itoje, the experienced second-row forward, returns to the squad to begin preparations, according to Planet Rugby. Borthwick has also named three uncapped players in the extended group, meaning players who have never won an England cap. Their names are in the squad announcement.
Not everyone can train yet. Seb Atkinson will join the squad at its Surrey base but is limited to rehabilitating a knee injury during this camp, the Guardian reports. Benhard Janse van Rensburg, the Bristol player, has not played since a head knock on club duty on 3 October. He has been diagnosed with a concussion, a brain injury that can cause headaches, confusion and dizziness, and he remains out of the picture for now.
The squad assembles on Sunday 25 October, and the group will train at the Performance Centre at Pennyhill Park, England's base in Surrey. Preparations start that day for the autumn opener against Australia, which is the first match of the Nations Championship campaign. Training squads of this size are typically whittled down before the final match-day selection, so the names here are a starting point rather than a final team.
For Marchant, the recall is a chance to show the form that took him to Paris and back. For Joseph, it is a second look after a long gap. Both will know that a place in a 36-man group is only the first step, and that the coaching staff will be watching closely once training begins on Sunday.
