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Dylan Hartley will be heading back to New Zealand this summer after having been named in Martin Johnson's first England squad. Two players who will be joining the club in the summer - scrum-halves Ben Foden and Lee Dickson - have been selected in the England Saxons squad for the Churchill Cup in the USA and Canada. Other future Saints heading to North America are back rowers Neil Best and Roger Wilson, who have both been chosen in the Ireland 'A' Churchill Cup squad. Hartley, who comes from Rotorua in New Zealand, has been selected in the England squad after impressing during the Saints' undefeated promotion season. During the campaign the hooker made 25 appearances and scored five tries. After playing for England Under-19 and Under-21 Hartley graduated to the England Saxons for the 2007 Six Nations, in which he scored tries in both of his appearances against Italy and Ireland. This season he played for the Saxons against Ireland at Welford Road. He is one of six uncapped players in the 32-man squad which will be led by Bath lock Steve Borthwick. England play two tests against the All Blacks in Auckland (June 14th) and Christchurch (June 21st). "It is as tough a tour as you will ever go on, going to New Zealand," said England team manager Martin Johnson. "They have lost a lot of players but there has never been a bad All Black team in the history of the game. "They will have a few guys in there who weren't starters in previous seasons but they will all have international experience and they will be a formidable side. "Performance is what it is all about. We feel the team we have got, the players we have got, if we go over and reach somewhere near our potential we will be very competitive." ENGLAND SQUAD TO TOUR NEW ZEALAND
Forwards
Steve Borthwick (Bath Rugby) Captain
Tom Croft (Leicester Tigers)
Nick Easter (Harlequins)
Dylan Hartley (Northampton Saints)*
James Haskell (London Wasps)
Jason Hobson (Bristol Rugby)*
Ben Kay (Leicester Tigers)
Nick Kennedy (London Irish)*
Michael Lipman (Bath Rugby)
Lee Mears (Bath Rugby)
Luke Narraway (Gloucester Rugby)
David Paice (London Irish)*
Tom Palmer (London Wasps)
Tim Payne (London Wasps)
Tom Rees (London Wasps)
Andrew Sheridan (Sale Sharks)
Matt Stevens (Bath Rugby)
Joe Worsley (London Wasps) Backs
Olly Barkley (Bath Rugby)
Mike Brown (Harlequins)
Danny Care (Harlequins)*
Danny Cipriani (London Wasps)
Toby Flood (Newcastle Falcons)
Charlie Hodgson (Sale Sharks)
Jamie Noon (Newcastle Falcons)
Topsy Ojo (London Irish)*
Pete Richards (London Irish)
Paul Sackey (London Wasps)
David Strettle (Harlequins)
Mathew Tait (Newcastle Falcons)
Mike Tindall (Gloucester Rugby)
Richard Wigglesworth (Sale Sharks) * Denotes uncapped player Foden and Dickson are part of a 28-man Saxons squad that will be led by Harlequins' Will Skinner. The Saxons are the defending Churchill Cup champions and will defend their crown in the USA and Canada in June. ENGLAND SAXONS BARCLAYS CHURCHILL CUP SQUAD
Forwards
Steffon Armitage (London Irish)
Richard Blaze (Leicester Tigers)
Alex Brown (Gloucester Rugby)**
George Chuter (Leicester Tigers)**
Alex Clarke (Bristol Rugby)
Jordan Crane (Leicester Tigers)
Jack Forster (Gloucester Rugby)
Tom Guest (Harlequins)
Chris Jones (Sale Sharks)**
Nick Lloyd (Saracens)
Chris Robshaw (Harlequins)
Will Skinner (Harlequins) Captain
George Skivington (London Wasps)
Andy Titterrell (Gloucester Rugby)**
Rob Webber (London Wasps)
Dave Wilson (Newcastle Falcons) Backs
Nick Abendanon (Bath Rugby)**
Anthony Allen (Gloucester Rugby)**
Matt Banahan (Bath Rugby)
Lee Dickson (Newcastle Falcons)
Ben Foden (Sale Sharks)
Paul Hodgson (London Irish)**
Adrian Jarvis (Harlequins)
Ryan Lamb (Gloucester Rugby)
Ugo Monye (Harlequins)
Ollie Smith (Leicester Tigers)**
Tom Varndell (Leicester Tigers)**
Dominic Waldouck (London Wasps) ** Denotes capped player News Source:
http://www.northamptonsaints.co.uk |
