Ben Spencer and Harry Randall added to England squad as Mitchell and McParland ruled out
Ben Spencer (19 caps) and Harry Randall (14 caps) were named in England's squad for this month's Nations Championship on 2 November after injuries ruled Northampton pair Alex Mitchell and Archie McParland out of Sunday's match with Australia.
Mitchell pulled up with a hamstring issue in Northampton Saints' win over Gloucester on Saturday, while 21-year-old McParland suffered a calf problem during last week's training camp. McParland would have toured with England in July but for a severe cut to his leg in the Premiership final win over Exeter and could still be in contention for England's matches against Japan and New Zealand on 14 and 21 November respectively. Mitchell is due to have a scan on his hamstring on Monday to assess the extent of the injury and any lay-off; the 29-year-old has suffered three previous hamstring injuries already this year.
Leicester's Jack van Poortvliet, who started all three of England's summer Tests, appears set to continue as first-choice scrum-half in Mitchell's absence. England face a possible change at fly-half after first-choice Fin Smith struggled with a calf problem, with Marcus Smith and George Ford competing to deputise. Saracens' Theo Dan won the third hooker spot ahead of Nathan Jibulu, Jamie Blamire and Gabriel Oghre, replacing Bath's Kepu Tuipulotu who picked up an injury during last week's three-day training camp.
Gloucester centre Seb Atkinson and Exeter wing Immanuel Feyi-Waboso were included after completing injury comebacks for their clubs this weekend. Midfield selection drew particular attention with Gloucester's Will Joseph, who won his solitary previous cap in 2022, and Sale's Joe Marchant, who has returned to eligibility after three seasons playing in France, both named in the squad. Bath centres Ollie Lawrence and Max Ojomoh, who both starred in last autumn's clean sweep, were omitted, and there was no place for 20-year-old Saracens wing Noah Caluori.
The full squad named includes: Fin Baxter (Harlequins), Ollie Chessum (Leicester Tigers), Arthur Clark (Gloucester Rugby), Alex Coles (Northampton Saints), Luke Cowan-Dickie (Sale Sharks), Ben Curry (Sale Sharks), Tom Curry (Sale Sharks), Theo Dan (Saracens), Ben Earl (Saracens), Greg Fisilau (Exeter Chiefs), Jamie George (Saracens), Ellis Genge (Bristol Bears), Joe Heyes (Leicester Tigers), Maro Itoje (Saracens), Emmanuel Iyogun (Northampton Saints), George Martin (Saracens), Asher Opoku-Fordjour (Sale Sharks), Tom Pearson (Northampton Saints), Henry Pollock (Northampton Saints), Will Stuart (Bath Rugby). Also named: Seb Atkinson (Gloucester Rugby), Fraser Dingwall (Northampton Saints), Immanuel Feyi-Waboso (Exeter Chiefs), George Ford (Sale Sharks), Tommy Freeman (Northampton Saints), George Furbank (Harlequins), Will Joseph (Gloucester Rugby), Joe Marchant (Sale Sharks), Cadan Murley (Harlequins), Harry Randall (Bristol Bears), Henry Slade (Exeter Chiefs), Fin Smith (Northampton Saints), Marcus Smith (Harlequins), Ben Spencer (Bath Rugby), Freddie Steward (Leicester Tigers), Jack van Poortvliet (Leicester Tigers).
England's match against Australia is scheduled for Sunday 8 November at 15:10 GMT with live commentary on BBC Sports Extra and coverage on the BBC Sport website and app. After the fixtures with Australia, Japan and New Zealand, England will play a fourth Test against an as-yet-undecided southern hemisphere opponent in the play-off finals weekend of the new Nations Championship format.