LONDON – England have added props Kyle Sinckler and Mako Vunipola to their squad for Saturday's match with Italy as head coach Eddie Jones seeks to kick-start his side's Six Nations challenge.
Sinckler missed the 11-6 Calcutta Cup defeat by Scotland at the weekend after completing a ban for swearing at a referee while Vunipola has been out since November with an Achilles injury.
Making way to accommodate their return to Eddie Jones' 28-man championship squad are tighthead Harry Williams and loosehead Tom West.
Jones will welcome the availability of his first-choice props following a dismal display against Scotland at Twickenham, where his pack failed to gain any kind of foothold in the game.
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"They're both exceptional players," said the England head coach. "Mako is the elder statesman of the side, an experienced player.
"He's been training really well. He's got a lot of conditioning in him and we feel that he'll be available for selection.
"Kyle was dynamic for us during the autumn. It's good to have those two back."
Six Nations champions England are looking to get back on track quickly after their dismal opening performance, described by former England captain Lawrence Dallaglio as "clueless".
Jones took responsibility for the flop and promised his players would produce a more dynamic effort against Italy, who opened their campaign with a dispiriting 50-10 defeat against France.
"We just felt that we held back a little bit and we weren't our usual vibrant selves," Jones said.
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"We're just disappointed we didn't improve from the French game (in the Autumn Nations Cup). We're always looking to improve."
The Australian defended captain Owen Farrell, who was criticised for his performance against Scotland.
"There are five million situations in the game and we don't coach five million situations," he said.
"Once we get on the field the players make all the decisions and that's always been the case, but the responsibility to prepare them for the game is the head coach's and therefore I didn't give them the right information."
AFP