Danny Cipriani left out of England rugby squad for autumn internationals

Danny Cipriani’s World Cup dreams are hanging by a thread after he was this morning left out of England’s squad for the autumn series.

The Gloucester fly-half has been snubbed yet again by head coach Eddie Jones, despite a string of sparkling performances that led to him being named Premiership Player of the Month for September.

Jones has named a 36-man party for a training get-together in Portugal ahead of the first Twickenham match, against South Africa, on 3 November.

Sale wing Chris Ashton is included despite being suspended for the first seven weeks of the season and there are spots for centres Manu Tuilagi and Ben Te’o.

There is also a recall for Gloucester No.8 Ben Morgan who has never been picked by Jones and won the last of his 31 caps at the 2015 World Cup.

There are eight uncapped players including wings Joe Cokanasiga and Nathan Earle, Worcester forward Ted Hill, Bath’s back rower Zach Mercer and Saracens Michael Rhodes.

In what might be seen as a changing of the guard there is no place for veteran prop Dan Cole or back rower James Haskell.

Tight-head Cole has won 82 caps for England but has been leapfrogged by Exeter’s Harry Williams, Harlequins’ Kyle Sinckler and Worcester’s Nick Schonert.

Jones has also taken the unusual step of naming co-captains, Dylan Hartley and Owen Farrell, for the games against the Springboks, New Zealand, Japan and Australia.

He said: “I have named Dylan and Owen as co-captains for the series. They have both been excellent captains for England in the past and will provide a powerful leadership base for us on and off the field.”

Haskell, 33, has had limited game time this season since moving to Northampton and is another running out of time to make the World Cup.

The 30-year-old Cipriani started England’s last Test match, against South Africa in Cape Town in June, but after attending a camp in Teddington was left out of the most recent gathering in Bristol.

Cipriani has won 16 caps since 2008 – a woeful return for his talent – but he faces an uphill battle to make it to Japan next year.

Jones has had his hands tied by a catalogue of injuries to key players, notably Mako and Billy Vunipola, Chris Robshaw and Joe Launchbury, and bans which have left him short of 18 potential squad members.

And he was done no favours by Joe Marler’s retirement which along with Mako Vunipola and Ellis Genge being on the casualty list has left him with Exeter pair Ben Moon and Alec Hepburn as his loose heads.

He received another body blow on Wednesday when Wasps’ No.8 Nathan Hughes was suspended for punching Gloucester’s Lewis Ludlow and will miss the first three games of the autumn campaign.

England head to Portugal on Wednesday, returning two days before the South Africa game, but first Jones’ squad have to get through another round of European games this weekend without further mishaps.

England rugby squad in full

Forwards (20): T Curry (Sale Sharks), C Ewels (Bath Rugby), J George (Saracens), D Hartley (Northampton Saints, co-capt), A Hepburn (Exeter Chiefs), T Hill (Worcester Warriors), M Itoje (Saracens), G Kruis (Saracens), C Lawes (Northampton Saints), Z Mercer (Bath Rugby), B Moon (Exeter Chiefs), B Morgan (Gloucester Rugby), M Rhodes (Saracens), N Schonert (Worcester Warriors), B Shields (Wasps), K Sinckler (Harlequins), E Stooke (Bath Rugby), S Underhill (Bath Rugby), H Williams (Exeter Chiefs), M Wilson (Newcastle Falcons)

Backs (16): C Ashton (Sale Sharks), M Brown (Harlequins), D Care (Harlequins), J Cokanasiga (Bath Rugby), E Daly (Wasps), N Earle (Harlequins), O Farrell (Saracens co-capt), G Ford (Leicester Tigers), A Lozowski (Saracens), J May (Leicester Tigers), J Nowell (Exeter Chiefs), H Slade (Exeter Chiefs), B Te'o (Worcester Warriors), M Tuilagi (Leicester Tigers), R Wigglesworth (Saracens), B Youngs (Leicester Tigers).