England men’s head coach Steve Borthwick has named six Sharks in his training squad for the forthcoming 2026 Guinness Men’s Six Nations Championship, which begins on Saturday 7 February when England face Wales at Allianz Stadium, Twickenham (kick-off 4.40pm GMT, live on ITV1).
George Ford, Luke Cowan-Dickie, Bevan Rodd and Tom Curry have all been named in the full squad, with Ben Curry and Tom Roebuck joining them in travelling to Girona next week to continue their rehabilitation after injury. Sharks prop Asher Opoku-Fordjour misses out after undergoing shoulder surgery.
Maro Itoje has been named captain of the squad, which comprises 20 forwards and 16 backs. The group will gather at the England Rugby Performance Centre, Pennyhill Park, on Tuesday 27 January for a day’s training before travelling to Spain to continue preparations.
There are three uncapped players named in the squad: Greg Fisilau (Exeter Chiefs), Vilikesa Sela (Bath Rugby), and Emmanuel Iyogun (Northampton Saints).
“We’ve picked a squad with a good balance of experience, leadership and exciting potential,” said Borthwick.
“The margins in the Guinness Six Nations are incredibly fine so our aim over the coming days is to come together quickly, prepare thoroughly, and make sure we’re ready to perform.
“If we prepare well and keep demanding the highest levels from one another, it puts us in the strongest possible position when the Championship begins.”
Following the clash with Wales, England will face Scotland at Murrayfield Stadium on Saturday 14 February (kick-off 4.40pm GMT), before taking on Ireland at Allianz Stadium on Saturday 21 February (kick-off 4.10pm GMT).
England then travel to Rome to face Italy on Saturday 7 March (kick-off 4.40pm GMT), with their final match of the Championship taking place in Paris against France on Saturday 14 March (kick-off 8.10pm GMT).
All England matches will be shown live on ITV1.
England’s 36-player training squad
Forwards:
Ollie Chessum (Leicester Tigers, 30 caps)
Arthur Clark (Gloucester Rugby, 1 cap)
Alex Coles (Northampton Saints, 14 caps)
Luke Cowan-Dickie (Sale Sharks, 53 caps)
Chandler Cunningham-South (Harlequins, 20 caps)
Tom Curry (Sale Sharks, 65 caps)
Theo Dan (Saracens, 20 caps)
Trevor Davison (Northampton Saints, 3 caps)
Ben Earl (Saracens, 46 caps)
Greg Fisilau (Exeter Chiefs, uncapped)
Ellis Genge (Bristol Bears, 75 caps)
Jamie George (Saracens, 105 caps)
Joe Heyes (Leicester Tigers, 17 caps)
Maro Itoje (Saracens, 97 caps) – captain
Emmanuel Iyogun (Northampton Saints, uncapped)
Guy Pepper (Bath Rugby, 7 caps)
Henry Pollock (Northampton Saints, 5 caps)
Bevan Rodd (Sale Sharks, 10 caps)
Vilikesa Sela (Bath Rugby, uncapped)
Sam Underhill (Bath Rugby, 45 caps)
Backs:
Henry Arundell (Bath Rugby, 11 caps)
Seb Atkinson (Gloucester Rugby, 2 caps)
Elliot Daly (Saracens, 74 caps)
Fraser Dingwall (Northampton Saints, 7 caps)
Immanuel Feyi-Waboso (Exeter Chiefs, 13 caps)
George Ford (Sale Sharks, 105 caps)
Tommy Freeman (Northampton Saints, 22 caps)
George Furbank (Northampton Saints, 14 caps)
Alex Mitchell (Northampton Saints, 27 caps)
Cadan Murley (Harlequins, 4 caps)
Max Ojomoh (Bath Rugby, 2 caps)
Henry Slade (Exeter Chiefs, 74 caps)
Marcus Smith (Harlequins, 46 caps)
Ben Spencer (Bath Rugby, 14 caps)
Freddie Steward (Leicester Tigers, 41 caps)
Jack van Poortvliet (Leicester Tigers, 21 caps)
Rehabilitation in Girona: Fin Baxter (Harlequins), Ben Curry (Sale Sharks), Ollie Lawrence (Bath Rugby), Tom Roebuck (Sale Sharks), Fin Smith (Northampton Saints)
