Semesa Rokoduguni dropped for Argentina Test amid Jonny May recall
Lock George Kruis is also set to start for England at Twickenham after recovering quickly from ankle surgery.
England have dropped Semesa Rokoduguni for Saturday's (26 November) autumn Test clash with Argentina at Twickenham. The powerful Bath wing marked only his second international appearance with a brace of tries against Fiji last weekend, but will not retain his place as Gloucester's Jonny May returns to the fold as expected.
May opened the scoring for England earlier this month to help secure their first win over South Africa in a decade, but missed out on the subsequent 58-15 thrashing of Fiji after agreeing with head coach Eddie Jones that he was not "100% up to Test match pace in terms of fitness" having previously spent 10 months on the sidelines with knee ligament damage. He is expected to line up on the right wing against the Pumas, with Elliot Daly set to continue out of position on the opposite flank.
Jones has also opted to omit Alex Goode with Mike Brown resuming his regular duties at full-back, while Joe Launchbury has been rued out of the meetings with Argentina and Australia after being suspended for kicking an opposition player.
The Wasps lock was retrospectively cited after making contact with the head of Fiji's Asaeli Tikoirotuma while kicking through at a ruck and was later handed a reduced two-week ban after pleading guilty to an act of foul play that, had it been spotted by the referee, would have warranted a red card.
With Launchbury out, Saracens' George Kruis is primed to partner Courtney Lawes in the second row. The 26-year-old was added to Jones' initial 32-man training squad earlier this week after recovering quickly from minor surgery on an ankle problem. Charlie Ewels is wisely kept on as cover and flanker Tom Wood returns to challenge Teimana Harrison.
Along with Rokoduguni and Goode, Dave Attwood, Ben Morgan, Tommy Taylor, Alex Lozowski and Marland Yarde have also been released back to their clubs. Jones will confirm his starting XV and replacements bench on Thursday (24 November).
England's retained 24-man squad for Argentina clash
Forwards: Dan Cole (Leicester Tigers), Charlie Ewels (Bath Rugby), Jamie George (Saracens), Teimana Harrison (Northampton Saints), Dylan Hartley (Northampton Saints), Nathan Hughes (Wasps), George Kruis (Saracens), Courtney Lawes (Northampton Saints), Joe Marler (Harlequins), Chris Robshaw (Harlequins), Kyle Sinckler (Harlequins), Billy Vunipola (Saracens), Mako Vunipola (Saracens), Tom Wood (Northampton Saints).
Backs: Mike Brown (Harlequins), Danny Care (Harlequins), Elliot Daly (Wasps), Owen Farrell (Saracens), George Ford (Bath Rugby), Jonathan Joseph (Bath Rugby), Jonny May (Gloucester Rugby), Henry Slade (Exeter Chiefs), Ben Te'o (Worcester Warriors), Ben Youngs (Leicester Tigers).
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