Northampton Saints trio Fraser Dingwall, George Furbank and Alex Moon earn first England call-ups
Northampton Saints youngsters Fraser Dingwall, George Furbank and Alex Moon have been called up to the England squad for the first time.
The trio, who have all starred for the Saints this season, are among eight uncapped players selected by Head Coach Eddie Jones for the upcoming Six Nations tournament.
Dingwall, 20, was born in Cambridge and used to play for Cambridge Rugby Club before being snapped up by the Saints as a 14-year-old.
The centre actually began his international career with Scotland, but later switched allegiance to England - going on to captain his country at under 20s level.
Furbank, 23, came through the ranks at his hometown club in Huntingdon before joining the Saints' academy.
He broke into the Saints' first team during the 2018/19 campaign and has gone on to make the full-back shirt his own this season.
Second row Moon, 23, attended St Joseph’s College in Ipswich before making the move to the Saints in 2015.
Back row Lewis Ludlam also went to the same school, and he's been retained in the squad following his impressive impact at the Rugby World Cup last year.
As expected, lock Courtney Lawes keeps his place as well, but there's no room in the squad for Piers Francis who's out with concussion.
Young scrum-half Alex Mitchell has been picked as one of two apprentice players for the tournament, meaning he will train with the squad but won't be considered for any of the matches.
England, who finished as runners-up at the World Cup, start their campaign away to France on Sunday February 2.
"Our first task is beating France in France and that is the only game we need to worry about. We will begin our preparations in Portugal, get a bit of sun, some warm conditions and get ourselves physically and mentally right for the game," Head Coach Eddie Jones said.
“It is always about winning the next game, so we have picked the best squad available. At the same time, we wanted to bring some young players in because we need to keep building our depth, so for those new players it is an exciting opportunity for them.”
England's 2020 Six Nations squad
Forwards:
Luke Cowan-Dickie (Exeter Chiefs), Tom Curry (Sale Sharks), Tom Dunn (Exeter Chiefs), Ben Earl (Saracens), Charlie Ewels (Bath Rugby), Ellis Genge (Leicester Tigers), Jamie George (Saracens), Ted Hill (Worcester Warriors), Maro Itoje (Saracens), George Kruis (Saracens), Joe Launchbury (Wasps), Courtney Lawes (Northampton Saints), Lewis Ludlam (Northampton Saints), Joe Marler (Harlequins), Alex Moon (Northampton Saints), Kyle Sinckler (Harlequins), Will Stuart (Bath Rugby), Sam Underhill (Bath Rugby), Mako Vunipola (Saracens), Harry Williams (Exeter Chiefs)
Backs:
Elliot Daly (Saracens), Ollie Devoto (Exeter Chiefs), Fraser Dingwall (Northampton Saints), Owen Farrell (Saracens), George Ford (Leicester Tigers), George Furbank (Northampton Saints), Willi Heinz (Gloucester Rugby), Jonathan Joseph (Bath Rugby), Jonny May (Leicester Tigers), Ollie Thorley (Gloucester Rugby), Manu Tuilagi (Leicester Tigers), Jacob Umaga (Wasps), Anthony Watson (Bath Rugby), Ben Youngs (Leicester Tigers)
Apprentice players:
Alex Mitchell (Northampton Saints), Josh Hodge (Newcastle Falcons)