Chris Ashton's decision to return to the Gallagher Premiership has paid off after he was named in England's pre-season training squad.
Ashton left Toulon in the close season and moved to Sale Sharks, making him eligible for England selection once again. And Eddie Jones has wasted no time in calling on Ashton's services for their training camp in Teddington this weekend.
"Chris is an exceptional player, I think we have seen with his form at Saracens, then at Toulon he has played exceedingly well," Jones said. "He's come back to England because he wants to play for England so he has got the right desire, the right attitude so it will be good to work with him."
Dylan Hartley also returns to the England mix having missed their summer tour of South Africa due to concussion while Michael Rhodes is also called up after becoming eligible in July.
Jones has used the opportunity to call on three fresh faces with Harlequins' Gabriel Ibitoye, Leicester Tigers' Jordan Olowofela and Saracens' Joel Kpoku all named.
"It is an opportunity for them to show us what they have got," Jones said. "We have identified those guys who can potentially play for England in the future so this is a great opportunity for them."
The likes of Dan Cole, Ellis Genge, Jonathan Joseph, George Kruis, Jack Nowell, Brad Shields, Manu Tuilagi, Billy Vunipola, Anthony Watson and Richard Wigglesworth were not considered for selection as England start their preparations ahead of their four-Test autumn programme which sees them play South Africa, New Zealand, Japan and Australia.
📋SQUAD ANNOUNCEMENT
— England Rugby (@EnglandRugby) August 2, 2018
Eddie Jones has named a 44-man training squad ahead of the new season.
Find out more: ➡️ https://t.co/EraoaYbJJF pic.twitter.com/jiomjbbgPi
"This is a pre-season camp so a lot of our players, particularly the ones who went on the South African tour, have just started training with their clubs so it's just a chance to get a group of players together to have a chat about the season ahead and look at the important areas in developing the team," said Jones.
"With just over 12 months until the Rugby World Cup, it is an important time.
"We haven't selected everyone. There are a number of players we rested from the tour that we have allowed to continue their pre-season with their clubs.
"This camp is all about individual preparation, it's about looking to see how we can help each of the players improve, how we can help with their selection for the national team, because we have 44 players coming in plus another 15 who are strongly in contention for the Quilter Internationals in November."