Six Nations: Odogwu and Randall called up by England

Six Nations: England v Scotland
Date: Saturday 6 February Kick-off: 16:45 GMT Venue: Twickenham
Coverage: Live on BBC Radio 5 Live, BBC Radio Scotland, online with live text commentary

Wasps back Paolo Odogwu and Bristol scrum-half Harry Randall have been named in England's 28-man squad for the Six Nations.

Bath prop Beno Obano is the third uncapped player in the squad.

Notable omissions are Wasps flanker Jack Willis and Bath back Jonathan Joseph, who are named in a 12-man shadow squad.

"This is a really tough squad to pick. I know there are a lot of disappointed players," said head coach Eddie Jones.

Bristol prop Kyle Sinckler, who is banned for the opener against Scotland, is not included in either squad. However, Sinckler will be available for selection once he has served his suspension.

England will retain a 28-player squad throughout the tournament, following an agreement with the clubs and the players' union, "in recognition of the challenges presented by COVID-19".

There is a return from injury for Courtney Lawes, but Mako Vunipola is ruled out, although he will join the squad to work on his rehabilitation.

England Six Nations squad

Backs: Elliot Daly, Owen Farrell, George Ford, Ollie Lawrence, Max Malins, Jonny May, Paolo Odogwu, Harry Randall, Dan Robson, Henry Slade, Anthony Watson, Ben Youngs.

Forwards: Luke Cowan-Dickie, Tom Curry, Tom Dunn, Ben Earl, Ellis Genge, Jamie George, Jonny Hill, Maro Itoje, Joe Launchbury, Courtney Lawes, Joe Marler, Beno Obano, Will Stuart, Sam Underhill, Billy Vunipola, Harry Williams, Mark Wilson.

Shadow squad:

Charlie Atkinson, Ali Crossdale, Tom Dunn, Charlie Ewels, George Furbank, Joe Heyes, Jonathan Joseph, Joe Marchant, George Martin, Alex Mitchell, Jacob Umaga, Jack Willis.

You can stream five fourth-round games live on the BBC this weekend, including Liverpool's trip to Manchester United. Find out more here.

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43 comments

Willis is the best jackler in the game and Joseph is incredibly versatile, playing on the wing or in the centres. I`d have taken both over (and its a tough call for sure) Wilson and Odogwu - evern though the balance in the centres still looks light
Congratulations Paolo Odogwu. Yet another Leicester Academy player doing well for other clubs. This is the reason Tigers went from a top club to a laughing stock, not giving their own products opportunities in order to bring in imports that were happy to come for a pension top up!!
Pleased for Mark Wilson. Tough area that & he’s a little underrated.
Splendid selection.
On Prem performances, Wilson, Randall and Odogwu deserve a run out.
What do Sam and Joe Simmonds have to do to get in to this squad?? Baffled at the same old same old in a number of positions.

Great to see Randall and Odogwu though!
Looks like a pretty well balanced squad, from what I have seen of Randall. Odogwu and Obano they look to have good futures ahead of them.
That's 29 players???
Aldeto 21 replied:
Tom Dunn is erroneously included in the list
Can I not count or is there not 29 players listed not 28 as stated.
Bring on some six nations rugby - yes it would be better with a crowd but something is better than nothing and I'm sure the game needs the influx of TV money.

Just hope all the games get completed as Covid cancellations devalue the competition
Nice balance in the squad, lets hope for more entertaining rugby than in the Autumn
Redpath should be in this squad. Eddie's really dropped the ball on this
The_Umpire_Strikes_Back replied:
Redpath obviously wanted to play in a more exciting national team 😁
Randall was always going to struggle to break into the Welsh squad as that is an area of strength in depth. Still a shame to see him deciding to throw his lot in with England. Best of luck to him.
Bosnia Herzegovina replied:
I guess he didn’t fancy finishing 5th in his first ever 6N.
The 6 nations this season will not hold the same value as its predecessors. Perhaps use it for giving the up and coming players a chance.

I predict the least memorable 6 nations ever.
Yeh! Good Eddie, pick another couple of uncapped players to use once then drop them!
jd hogg replied:
You forgot "get them seriously injured" then drop them.
Wales should have gone for Pat Lam, so they could have got Randall and Sheedy for the future. Too late now.
GR replied:
Doh...Sheedy has already opted for and played for Wales.
Good to see Randall's and Odogwu's club performances being recognised, both have been exciting to watch. Though, I query how many game minutes they will actually get, and is the primary driver here due to other nation eligibility (Wales and Italy).
Don't know what Ben Spencer needs to do to get a call up!
1981claret replied:
Be better than the alternatives. He's one for the future, great talent no doubt and I hope he develops into an England regular. But just because he's @bath doesn't mean automatic selection anymore -the old school / boys system is gone
Randall has opted for England, pity from a Welsh perspective and definately one to watch for the future.
GR replied:
I for one am glad he chose England. He was born in England and both his parents are English. I'm Welsh and raised in England, I would only ever have wanted to play for Wales.
Backs look spot on. Might have had Willis for Wilson. Sinckler one is difficult given COVID and his ban.
Tough break for Sinckler to be completely omitted but he needs to be made an example of for his actions

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