Six Saints stars get England call ahead of Six Nations
Five Saints stars have been named in England's Six Nations squad - and another will train with the group as an 'apprentice player'.
George Furbank, Fraser Dingwall and Alex Moon will get their first taste of life among the senior England group, while Courtney Lawes and Lewis Ludlam are also named in the 34-man party.
Scrum-half Alex Mitchell, who is currently on his way back from a knee injury picked up playing for England against the Barbarians last June, is named as an apprentice player, meaning he will only train with the squad.
England boss Eddie Jones was at Franklin's Gardens to watch Saints' recent win against Benetton, while new England attack coach Simon Amor was in Lyon when Saints won 36-24 last Saturday.
And 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 will assemble at Pennyhill Park on Wednesday and travel to Portugal on Thursday ahead of their first match against France in Paris on Sunday, February 2.
Last week, Jones’ coaching staff were confirmed for the ix Nations with attack coach Amor and forwards coach Matt Proudfoot joining defence coach John Mitchell and skills coach Steve Borthwick.
Forwards
Luke Cowan-Dickie (Exeter Chiefs, 21 caps)
Tom Curry (Sale Sharks, 19 caps)
Tom Dunn (Exeter Chiefs, uncapped)
Ben Earl (Saracens, uncapped)
Charlie Ewels (Bath Rugby, 12 caps)
Ellis Genge (Leicester Tigers, 14 caps)
Jamie George (Saracens, 45 caps)
Ted Hill (Worcester Warriors, 1 cap)
Maro Itoje (Saracens, 34 caps)
George Kruis (Saracens, 41 caps)
Joe Launchbury (Wasps, 62 caps)
Courtney Lawes (Saints, 81 caps)
Lewis Ludlam (Saints, 6 caps)
Joe Marler (Harlequins, 68 caps)
Alex Moon (Saints, uncapped)
Kyle Sinckler (Harlequins, 31 caps)
Will Stuart (Bath Rugby, uncapped)
Sam Underhill (Bath Rugby, 15 caps)
Mako Vunipola (Saracens, 58 caps)
Harry Williams (Exeter Chiefs, 18 caps)
Backs
Elliot Daly (Saracens, 39 caps)
Ollie Devoto (Exeter Chiefs, 1 cap)
Fraser Dingwall (Saints, uncapped)
Owen Farrell (Saracens, 79 caps)
George Ford (Leicester Tigers, 65 caps)
George Furbank (Saints, uncapped)
Willi Heinz (Gloucester Rugby, 9 caps)
Jonathan Joseph (Bath Rugby, 47 caps)
Jonny May (Leicester Tigers, 52 caps)
Ollie Thorley (Gloucester Rugby, uncapped)
Manu Tuilagi (Leicester Tigers, 40 caps)
Jacob Umaga (Wasps, uncapped)
Anthony Watson (Bath Rugby, 42 caps)
Ben Youngs (Leicester Tigers, 95 caps)
Apprentice players
Alex Mitchell (Saints, uncapped)
Josh Hodge (Newcastle Falcons, uncapped)