​Bath Rugby full-back Nick Abendanon was today handed an RBS 6 Nations chance by England after being drafted into the England Elite Player Squad.

Abendanon has been promoted from the Saxons at the expense of London Irish’s Delon Armitage, who is banned for eight weeks after being found guilty of pushing and using threatening and/or abusive and obscene language towards a doping control officer during a routine test immediately after his side lost to Bath in the Aviva Premiership on January 1.

Northampton Saints flankers Tom Wood and Phil Dowson and Leicester Tigers lock George Skivington join Abendanon at England’s training camp in Portugal. Wood and Dowson are injury replacements for Bath’s Lewis Moody and Leicester's Tom Croft, while Skivington comes in for Courtney Lawes.

There are seven changes to the Saxons squad, who are spending time at the University of Bath this week ahead of games against Italy A at Worcester on Saturday and Ireland A in Belfast on February 4.

Gloucester prop Nick Wood, London Irish hooker James Buckland, Worcester Warriors lock Graham Kitchener, Leicester centre Manu Tuilagi and Gloucester full-back Olly Morgan are named as injury replacements for Matt Mullan (Worcester), Rob Webber (Wasps), Dan Ward-Smith (Wasps), Mathew Tait (Sale) and Alex Goode (Saracens).

Harlequins lock George Robson replaces suspended Bath signing target David Attwood and club-mate and full-back Mike Brown takes over from Abendanon.