GLOUCESTER'S Ben Morgan is a surprise omission from England’s 33-man squad for the RBS Six Nations Championship.

The Gloucester number eight, who was man of the series in the 2014 Autumn Tests, suffered a shoulder injury against Exeter Chiefs last weekend but that is not thought to be serious, meaning he should have been available to play in the tournament.

But new national coach Eddie Jones, who took over from axed Stuart Lancaster after England’s disastrous Rugby World Cup where they failed to get out of the pool stages and became the first host nation to do so in the competition’s history, has axed the six feet three inch, 18 stone Morgan.

It is the second successive time that the Dursley ace has missed the Six Nations after he broke his leg badly 12 months ago which kept him out of action until last summer.

He did manage to get back into Lancaster’s squad for the World Cup and was vying with Saracens’  Billy Vunipola for the starting place at number eight.

It is a blow for Morgan, capped 31 times by England since making his debut Scotland at Murrayfield in 2012, especially with the British and Irish Lions tour to New Zealand taking place next year.

There is better news for Morgan’s Gloucester back row colleague Matt Kvesic who is named in Jones’ first England squad after some blistering performances for the Cherry and Whites as a replacement for injured Exeter Chief Dave Ewers.

However, there is no place for Gloucester centre Billy Twelvetrees, capped 22 times by England but who missed out on the World Cup after playing in last year’s Six Nations Championship.

Cherry and Whites wing try machine Jonny May would almost certainly have made the squad but has suffered a knee injury that needed surgery and is out for the rest of the season.