Ben Youngs has been omitted from an England Six Nations squad for the first time since 2014 as Steve Borthwick prepares to reshuffle his team to face Italy on Sunday. Youngs, Ben Curry and Anthony Watson all featured against Scotland but have been sent back to their clubs with Alex Mitchell, Jack Willis, Henry Arundell and Henry Slade all retained.
The 33-year-old Leicester scrum-half has been a fixture under the past two England coaching regimes but, after 122 caps, will miss out this weekend with Jack van Poortvliet and Northampton’s Mitchell chosen ahead of him. The Toulouse-based Willis, meanwhile, looks poised to step into the back row after being left out of the Calcutta Cup matchday squad.
