The England Team have got together this week in Loughborough for a Elite Players squad summer camp. England Head Coach Stuart Lancaster, wants to help get as many England players into the British and Irish Lions team for next summer.

This is a good sign in the run up to the Autumn Internationals when England will face the big south hemisphere rivals at home at Twickenham. England did not have many players in the Lions Squad who played against South Africa. However Lancaster is confident more England players will make the trip to Australia in the Summer 2013.

Lancaster explained why he wants England players in the Lions team even though will mean they can’t play on the England tour of Argentina.

“I don’t see it as a personal goal for me but I see the Lions tour as a motivation for the players,”
“I told them ‘we want as many of you as possible to go on the Lions tour.’ It’s a massive thing for the players and I think it helps them become better players by going to represent England within the British and Irish Lions at the highest level.
“And, also, I want the players to feel that we’re behind them in supporting them in that journey. We want as many as possible on the tour and then I can take some development lads to Argentina.”

The only current England player in the Lions squad is Leicester player Tom Croft.

The 3 day get together was used to reinforce the future of the England and the drive to produce a world class team of world class players.

He said:

“We need seven world class players in our team and I define world class players as being in the top three in their position in the world.
“That’s the reality, we can coach, we can put systems and structures in place but we need world class players.
“A good measure will be the Lions – it’s the benchmark of four northern hemisphere sides and if you’re not playing well enough to tour with the Lions then you can’t be in the top three in the world. It will be a good barometer [of our progress] as I saw various selections for the Lions pre-South Africa and we didn’t have very many in there.

Things are looking up for England , Buy tickets for the Autumn International Games via the links to the right.

With November fast approaching, the Autumn Internationals, also known as the End of Year Rugby Tests, will be upon us faster than most fans expect. The good news is that the England Autumn International tickets have just recently gone on sale and are still available. However, tickets are selling fast, and if you wait to buy England rugby tickets, you may find that you’ve waited too long.
Read more England Rugby Tickets Autumn 2012 ›

The Autumn International Rugby Test Series begins when England take on the old enemy Australia at Twickenham on 07 Nov 2009. Tickets for England v Australia are still available. The England Team medical staff have been working closely with Gloucester Rugby following Mike Tindall’s suspected hamstring injury last night. It has been agreed that Mike will return to the England camp tomorrow where he will be further assessed. An MRI scan will be taken after which the cause and extent of the injury will be clearer and a further announcement will be made at that time.
In addition, the England team management can confirm that Ayoola Erinle of Biarritz Olympique will also join the squad on Sunday and take part in training on Monday and Tuesday. Final decisions on the 22 man squad for the Australia game will be made and announced on Tuesday 3rd November. Rob Andrew believes that England’s injury problems cannot be used as an excuse as they prepare for a challenging Test series.
Read more England v Australia Tickets Rugby Autumn International ›