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ESPN staff 7y

England's uncapped duo: Who are Tom Dunn and Marcus Smith?

Rugby

Eddie Jones named his 33-man squad for next week's three-day England training camp in Oxford Friday morning, and there were a few surprises.

Four England stars picked to tour New Zealand with the British & Irish Lions were left out while a couple of uncapped players were retained. But who are the new(ish) faces in Jones' squad?

ESPN gives you the lowdown on two players just starting out on their international journey.

Tom Dunn (Bath)

The young Bath hooker was included in England's preseason training camp and keeps his place for the trip to Oxford. Dunn broke into Bath's starting 15 last season but saw his campaign ended by an ankle injury picked up against Harlequins in February.

He remained on the England radar, however, and has started all three of Bath's matches in the Aviva Premiership this term. A physical presence around the pitch, the 24-year-old has averaged almost 15 tackles per game to help his club to an impressive start to the new campaign.

His inclusion in the current training squad seems to suggest that he is now No. 3 in the pecking order at hooker, behind Jamie George and captain Dylan Hartley.

Marcus Smith (Harlequins)

Another uncapped player to keep his place from the preseason get-together in Teddington, Smith has started the season wonderfully at Harlequins. The 18-year-old had not played a Premiership match when he was first summoned by Jones last month, but has started two this season -- coming on after less than 13 minutes of the other -- and guided his side to victory at Wasps last time out.

Jones was keen to stress that Smith remains an apprentice on the international stage, suggesting that he will be asked to clean George Ford's boots in Oxford. He is the fifth-choice fly-half in the squad behind Ford, Owen Farrell, Alex Lozowski and Piers Francis, while Henry Slade can also play at 10.

But the chance to learn his trade in such dignified company while getting to grips with the demands of international rugby is one that could prove invaluable for the talented youngster.

And those who missed out...

The omission of the British & Irish Lions quartet of James Haskell, George Kruis, Jonathan Joseph and Kyle Sinckler was definitely headline worthy. However, Jones stressed that the door is not closed on any of them this autumn.

Kruis is currently recovering from an ankle injury, while Haskell only made his comeback last Sunday and looks in need of game time. Joseph and Sinckler have both seen action for their clubs but Jones was adamant on Friday that his focus is on England's opening autumn international against Argentina, and it is possible that any, or all, of the four could be back in an England shirt by the end of November.

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