Eddie Jones on Monday recalled powerful Saracens forward Billy Vunipola and named veteran scrum-half Danny Care in his 36-man squad for England’s three-Test Australia tour in July.
Injuries to Alex Dombrandt and Sam Simmonds have opened the door for No. 8 Vunipola to make his first international appearance since last year’s Six Nations.
England will travel to Australia on Tuesday ahead of their first game against the Wallabies in Perth on July 2, with matches to follow in Brisbane and Sydney.
Australia-born Vunipola, whose brother Mako Vunipola is also in the squad, was knocked out in the closing stages of Saracens’ 15-12 Premiership final defeat to Leicester on Saturday.
But the 29-year-old, who has 61 England caps, been included in the touring party and will compete with Tom Curry for the number eight jersey.
“Billy needed to find his best,” said Jones. “He wasn’t at his best in the last Six Nations he played with us, he was a bit up and down.
“I asked him to go away and find his best and I think that consistently for Saracens he has been close to that. In the (Saturday’s Premiership) final he was exceptional, he looked like a Test number eight.”
Danny Care, 35, is on course to make his Test comeback in Australia as one of three scrum-halves included in the touring party, almost four years after winning the last of his 84 caps.
But three notable senior players are missing in Ben Youngs, Joe Marler and Elliot Daly, while Max Malins continues to be frozen out after being dropped during the Six Nations.
Youngs has recently experienced family tragedy with the death of Tiffany Youngs, the wife of his elder brother Tom, but other omissions were purely selection-based.
Eight uncapped players have been named in the squad including London Irish full-back Henry Arundell, who has created a buzz after scoring several eye-catching tries for London Irish and England Under-20s.
“Henry has a lot to like, but the next step is the big step — to go from a part-time club player to a fully fledged international is a big step,” Jones said.
“He’s taking good steps towards it, he has a good attitude. He works hard and has been learning from senior players. Luckily he has a guy like Jonny May to learn from, an ultimate professional.”
Jones revealed that he would name his captain in the week of the first Test.
England have won all eight of their Tests against the Wallabies since former Australia coach Jones took charge after the 2015 World Cup, including a 3-0 series whitewash six years ago.
