England have made a pair of changes to their squad for their crucial Autumn Nations Series encounter against Australia this Saturday. Sale Sharks lock Asher Opoku-Fordjour has been called up to replace Joe Marler, who announced his retirement from international rugby just a day after England’s opening defeat to New Zealand. Meanwhile, Bath Rugby forward Charlie Ewels comes into the side for Ted Hill.
The news of Marler’s retirement sent shockwaves through the rugby world, and England will undoubtedly miss his experience and leadership. Opoku-Fordjour, who has been in impressive form for Sale this season, will be hoping to make an immediate impact in his first international cap. Ewels’ call-up represents a return to the international stage after a previous stint with England.
England will be eager to bounce back from their opening defeat to the All Blacks, and they will be facing a formidable Australian side at Twickenham. The Wallabies are a dangerous opponent, and England will need to be at their best to secure victory.
Here is the full 36-player squad for England’s clash against Australia:
Forwards
* Fin Baxter (Harlequins)
* Dan Cole (Leicester Tigers)
* Alex Coles (Northampton Saints)
* Luke Cowan-Dickie (Sale Sharks)
* Chandler Cunningham-South (Harlequins)
* Ben Curry (Sale Sharks)
* Tom Curry (Sale Sharks)
* Theo Dan (Saracens)
* Trevor Davison (Northampton Saints)
* Alex Dombrandt (Harlequins)
* Ben Earl (Saracens)
* Charlie Ewels (Bath Rugby)
* Ellis Genge (Bristol Bears)
* Jamie George (Saracens)
* Nick Isiekwe (Saracens)
* Maro Itoje (Saracens)
* George Martin (Leicester Tigers)
* Asher Opoku-Fordjour (Sale Sharks)
* Will Stuart (Bath Rugby)
* Sam Underhill (Bath Rugby)
Backs
* Elliot Daly (Saracens)
* Immanuel Feyi-Waboso (Exeter Chiefs)
* George Ford (Sale Sharks)
* Tommy Freeman (Northampton Saints)
* George Furbank (Northampton Saints)
* Ollie Lawrence (Bath Rugby)
* Alex Lozowski (Saracens)
* Luke Northmore (Harlequins)
* Harry Randall (Bristol Bears)
* Henry Slade (Exeter Chiefs)
* Ollie Sleightholme (Northampton Saints)
* Fin Smith (Northampton Saints)
* Marcus Smith (Harlequins)
* Ben Spencer (Bath Rugby)
* Freddie Steward (Leicester Tigers)
* Jack van Poortvliet (Leicester Tigers)
The Autumn Nations Series continues on November 9th with England facing Australia at Allianz Stadium (kick-off 3.10pm). New Zealand will also be in action, taking on Ireland in Dublin on November 8th (kick-off 8.10pm).
