EDDIE JONES has named EIGHT uncapped players for the Six Nations opener against Italy.

England are down to the bare bones when they kick off their title defence next month in Rome.

With injuries to key players from Billy Vunipola to Elliot Daly and suspensions for James Haskell and Joe Marler Jones has had to scrape the barrel and bring in a raft of rookies.

Former under-20s skipper and Bath number eight Zach Mercer is set to win his first cap and Northampton Saints playmaker Harry Mallinder is also in the squad.

Joining them are Marcus Smith – the Harlequins apprentice – and Alec Hepburn, Lewis Boyce, Gary Graham, Nathan Earle and Tom Dunn.

There is no place for Manu Tuilagi as he continues his comeback at Leicester Tigers.
But Lions ace Ben Te'o is in the squad after an ankle injury ruled him out of the autumn series.

Jones said: “I have selected the strongest available squad to prepare for our opening match against Italy.

"It is important we start the tournament well and we will spend the next two weeks training smart and really fine-tuning our game plan for the Italy match next month.

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