Eight uncapped players in England squad

England are without a number of their frontline players for their Six Nations opener against Italy and Eddie Jones has turned to eight uncapped contenders in his 35-man squad. Here we run the rule over the hopeful debutants who will train with England and look to force their way into Test selection for the championship.The loose-head was picked on their end-of-season tour to Argentina but just missed out on making his debut. He impressed on the Saxons' tour of South Africa in 2016 and with Matt Mullan, Beno Obano and Joe Marler unavailable, Hepburn is in prime position to make his debut against Italy from the bench.Boyce joined Quins from Yorkshire Carnegie ahead of this season and has displaced Mark Lambert as the Aviva Premiership side's second-choice loose-head. He featured in the England Under-20 side that won the 2016 Junior World Championship but has only made one start for Quins in the top tier.Dunn has put in an impressive tackle rate this season for Bath and with Luke Cowan-Dickie absent from the 35-man squad and not included as one of the unavailable players, he seems to have established himself as third-choice hooker behind Dylan Hartley and Jamie George. Eddie Jones told Dunn back at the end of 2017 to get bigger and to work on his set piece.Graham has only made four Aviva Premiership appearances for the Falcons having signed for them at the end of last season from Jersey. He played in the Scotland Under-20s - his father, George, played Test rugby for Scotland -- but has caught Jones' eye and will challenge for a spot at either blindside or openside. "Graham reminds me a bit of Robshaw so he's not an out and out seven but he's a good tough boy," Jones said. "He's got a nice demeanour about him, [and is] hungry, so very impressive."Mercer has featured in the England squad in an 'apprentice' role but has now progressed to being a contender to start against Italy. With Billy Vunipola and Nathan Hughes both out injured, England are lacking options at No.8 and Mercer has impressed there recently for Bath. "He's now fully available for selection, he's done well for Bath, I've been really impressed by his work-rate off the ball," Jones said. "There's a certain hardness about his game. He's always been one of those gifted boys but now he's doing the tough things."England are not short of options at fly-half, but Smith has come into the consciousness this season having featured prominently for Harlequins. Aged just 18, he only signed his first professional contract last week, but is on England's radar as one for the future. He still retains his status as 'apprentice' with George Ford and Owen Farrell ahead of him. "We would ideally like to get him right for the World Cup because then he fills a fine role as a third stand-off for us," Jones said. "But the only way we are going to develop him is for him to play at Harlequins and bring him into camps and put extra work into him."Mallinder was included in the squad for England's 2017 tour of Argentina, but did not get a chance in the Tests. He has endured a tough season at Northampton, but offers versatility across the backline with an ability to play fly-half, centre, wing and fullback. He has also come through the England age grade and captained them to their 2016 Junior World Championship triumph over Ireland.Earle was also named in England's squad for Argentina but like Mallinder, did not get his chance in the Tests but did play against the Barbarians last May. He is playing more prominently for Saracens this season and is likely to be lining up for Quins next term. He has an eye for the tryline and also has valuable southern hemisphere experience having had time with Canterbury. "He's a big, tall guy who's got pace," Jones said of Earle last year.