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England duo Anthony Watson and Mako Vunipola must prove fitness ahead of Scotland Six Nations clash

Watson is yet to feature in the championship while Vunipola made his comeback on the weekend

Tuesday 28 February 2017 20:56 GMT

Vunipola was named among the replacements against Italy (Getty)

Anthony Watson and Mako Vunipola have been released by England to sharpen their fitness this weekend with their clubs as they push for a starting place in Eddie Jones’ XV to face Scotland on March 11.

The pair were named as part of Jones’ 27-man training squad who will be based in Oxford this week ahead of the Calcutta Cup clash, as has Jonathan Joseph, who was omitted from the squad for last week’s win over Italy.

Exeter centre Henry Slade drops out of the squad altogether as Kyle Sinckler of Harlequins, Northampton’s Paul Hill and Leicester duo Mike Williams and Elliot Genge will all be released back to their club this weekend.

England vs Italy player ratings

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1/15England vs Italy player ratings

England vs Italy player ratings

<b>England:</b> Mike Brown – 5 out of 10

Left on his heels when Michele Campagnaro broke through the line, but started to show signs of his running best in the second half that he hasn’t shown for quite some time.

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England vs Italy player ratings

Jonny May – 4 out of 10

Failed to take a Ben Te’o offload in the first half when through on the try line, and faded from that point on as England struggled to figure out how to get the ball out wide.

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England vs Italy player ratings

Ben Te'o – 7 out of 10

When he got the chance to run with the ball he was impressive, taking a crash ball through the line and bagging his second try as the game began to unravel. Showed some nice offloads and also effective in the tackle.

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England vs Italy player ratings

Owen Farrell – 4 out of 10

In what was supposed to be a celebration of his 50th cap, Farrell put in possibly his worst performance in an England shirt. Twice he committed the cardinal sin of missing touch from a penalty and kicking the ball dead, and he also struggled with the swirling wind inside Twickenham as he missed a penalty and three conversions. He also got away with a questionable hit on Edoardo Gori to put him out of the game.

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England vs Italy player ratings

Elliot Daly – 7 out of 10

Displayed his pace once again to bag his second try in as many matches and was unlikely not to double up after impressive defending from Carlo Canna saw the replacement fly-half kick the ball out from under Daly’s hand. He also did his defensive work well, helping to force a knock-on in a maul on the England try line.

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England vs Italy player ratings

George Ford – 5 out of 10

He will rarely see less of the ball thanks to the Italian defenders. His kick down the line nearly produced a try for Daly, but he fell short defensively when Campagnaro ran over him on his way to scoring.

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England vs Italy player ratings

Danny Care – 6 out of 10

Sparked the England fightback into life with his quick tap and go to score in the corner after catching the Italian defence asleep. He was also the first to counter the Italian defence by running through the middle of the ruck.

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England vs Italy player ratings

Joe Marler – 6 out of 10

The English front-row struggled early on but that wasn’t any of Marler’s doing as he stood firm. Went through the motions a bit when it came to carrying, and was withdrawn in the 55th minute for the returning Mako Vunipola who made a notable impact in the scrum and the loose.

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England vs Italy player ratings

Dylan Hartley – 5 out of 10

Asking referee Romain Poite what England need to do to ruck wasn’t a high point, but his lineout was exemplary. Questions about whether Jamie George should come into the side won’t go away yet though.

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England vs Italy player ratings

Dan Cole – 5 out of 10

A game of mixed fortunes for the tighthead, and he conceded two penalties inside a minute in the first half before scoring England’s opening try. He also struggled early in the scrum, with Lovotti managing to turn him in twice to win penalties.

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England vs Italy player ratings

Joe Launchbury – 7 out of 10

One of those who led Plan B in the second half as he took on the carrying duty from the base to try force Italy into retreat. Appears to be excelling with each game that goes by.

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England vs Italy player ratings

Courtney Lawes – 6 out of 10

Carried well once again and put in a big hit on Allan to shake up the fly-half, but as England struggled to find ways of securing clean ball, his impact faded.

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England vs Italy player ratings

Maro Itoje – 7 out of 10

Two steals in the lineout helped disrupt the Italian set-piece and he also imposed in defence, with one big hit on Venditti setting the tone early in the second half as England got back on the gas.

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England vs Italy player ratings

James Haskell – 6 out of 10

Given it’s his first international start for eight months, it’s hard to over-analyse the flanker. One knock-on wasn’t his fault given it was a poor pass from Care, but his conversation about the laws of the game will not be one for the highlight reel.

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England vs Italy player ratings

Nathan Hughes – 7 out of 10

Another to endure a mixed game as he combined powerful running and tackling with conceding two penalties at the breakdown and also dropped the ball in an early counter attack.

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Watson missed the first two games of the championship through injury and although he was involved in the training squad prior to the Italy game, he did not make the matchday 23.

The winger will return to Bath for their big Premiership showdown with Wasps on Saturday as he looks to make enough of an impression to dislodge either Elliot Daly or Jack Nowell from the two starting berths on the wing.

6 Nations build-up: England's tournament history in numbers

Vunipola will face Newcastle with Saracens this weekend after making his return to the England side from the replacements against Italy. Jones will hope his first-choice loosehead will be fit to start against the dangerous looking Scots, with Joe Marler expected to drop to the bench.

Vunipola’s brother, Billy, is not included in the squad despite suggestions he could make a surprise return for the Red Rose after initially being ruled out of the entire Six Nations with a knee injury.

England’s 27-man squad for this week's training camp in Oxford:

Forwards: J Clifford (Harlequins), D Cole (Leicester), E Genge (Leicester), J George (Saracens), D Hartley (Northampton), J Haskell (Wasps), P Hill (Northampton), N Hughes (Wasps), M Itoje (Saracens), J Launchbury (Wasps), C Lawes (Northampton), J Marler (Harlequins), K Sinckler (Harlequins), M Vunipola (Saracens), M Williams (Leicester), Tom Wood (Northampton).

Backs: M Brown (Harlequins), D Care (Harlequins), E Daly (Wasps), O Farrell (Saracens), G Ford (Bath), J Joseph (Bath), J May (Gloucester), J Nowell (Exeter), B Te'o (Worcester), A Watson (Bath), B Youngs (Leicester).

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