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Kitchener among six Tigers selected by England

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Six Leicester Tigers players have been named in England squads ahead of the Six Nations and Saxons fixtures.The uncapped Graham Kitchener is joined in the England senior squad by Tigers team-mates Dan Cole, Geoff Parling, Tom Youngs and Ben Youngs, while Tom Croft is selected among the Saxons after his recovery from long-term injury.   The senior squad will meet up next Monday to prepare for opening match of the Six Nations, against Wales in Cardiff on February 6, while the Saxons will assemble on the same day before setting off for their game against Ireland Wolfhounds on January 30.   Cole, Croft, Parling, Tom Youngs are among six British & Irish Lions who return to the England reckoning – alongside Alex Corbisero, Mako Vunipola.   Kitchener, who has just agreed a new contract at Tigers, comes in for Courtney Lawes who has had surgery on an ankle injury.   England head coach Stuart Lancaster said: “Looking at both squads, it’s obvious there is a lot of depth and competition in every position, which is what we want.   “We will use the four-day training camp and the Saxons game to narrow down selection as we lead into the opening game against Wales.   “The match against the Wolfhounds gives us a great opportunity to take a look at a group of players who are right on the edge of the senior squad, and we also have the likes of David Strettle and Freddie Burns who are very much in our thinking as options going forward.   “We will be without Joe Launchbury and Ben Morgan and it was a real shame to see Ben Foden pick up his injury up last weekend. We will continue to work with Northampton Saints and Leicester Tigers with Courtney Lawes and Manu Tuilagi and see where they are as the Six Nations progresses.”   As well as Tuilagi, Tigers club captain Ed Slater and centre Anthony Allen are among the players not considered due to injury.   England Senior training squad  Forwards Dave Attwood (Bath Rugby)  Calum Clark (Northampton Saints)  Dan Cole (Leicester Tigers) Alex Corbisiero (Northampton Saints) Nick Easter (Harlequins) Dylan Hartley (Northampton Saints)  James Haskell (Wasps) Graham Kitchener (Leicester Tigers) George Kruis (Saracens)  Joe Marler (Harlequins)  Geoff Parling (Leicester Tigers) Chris Robshaw (Harlequins, captain)  Billy Vunipola (Saracens)  Mako Vunipola (Saracens)  David Wilson (Bath Rugby) Tom Wood (Northampton Saints) Tom Youngs (Leicester Tigers)    Backs Brad Barritt (Saracens)  Mike Brown (Harlequins)  Luther Burrell (Northampton Saints)  Danny Care (Harlequins)  Danny Cipriani (Sale Sharks) Kyle Eastmond (Bath Rugby)  Owen Farrell (Saracens)  George Ford (Bath Rugby)  Alex Goode (Saracens)  Jonathan Joseph (Bath Rugby) Jonny May (Gloucester Rugby)  Stephen Myler (Northampton Saints)  Jack Nowell (Exeter Chiefs)  Billy Twelvetrees (Gloucester Rugby) Anthony Watson (Bath Rugby) Richard Wigglesworth (Saracens) Ben Youngs (Leicester Tigers)  England Saxons squad Forwards Kieran Brookes (Newcastle Falcons) Tom Croft (Leicester Tigers) Christian Day (Northampton Saints)   Luke Cowan-Dickie (Exeter Chiefs) Dave Ewers (Exeter Chiefs) Matt Garvey (Bath Rugby) Ross Harrison (Sale Sharks) Maro Itoje (Saracens) Matt Kvesic (Gloucester Rugby) Matt Mullan (Wasps)  Henry Thomas (Bath Rugby) Thomas Waldrom (Exeter Chiefs) Alex Waller (Northampton Saints) Rob Webber (Bath Rugby) Backs Chris Ashton (Saracens) Sam Burgess (Bath Rugby) Elliot Daly (Wasps) Ollie Devoto (Bath Rugby) Lee Dickson (Northampton Saints, captain) Chris Pennell (Worcester Warriors) Joe Simpson (Wasps)  Henry Slade (Exeter Chiefs) Marland Yarde (Harlequins) Christian Wade (Wasps) The following players were not considered because of injury although they may play a part further into the RBS 6 Nations tournament: Anthony Allen (knee), Will Fraser (back), Courtney Lawes (ankle), Semesa Rokoduguni (hip), Manusamoa Tuilagi (groin).