Borthwick: Coronavirus threat to Six Nations 'not a distraction'
England are refusing to allow escalating fears over the spread of the coronavirus to disrupt the final two rounds of their Guinness Six Nations title challenge.
Eddie Jones’ side are due to visit Rome on the final day of the tournament on March 14 but that game appears in growing danger of being postponed with Italy in the grip of a mounting crisis.
Twelve people have died from the disease in Italy and the country has reported a total of 374 cases. As a result, Ireland’s clash with Italy in Dublin on Saturday week has already been called off due to the outbreak.
England are preparing for their clash with Wales in the penultimate round at a three-day camp in Oxford and assistant coach Steve Borthwick insists it is business as usual.
“It’s not a distraction. The squad are together and looking forward to two-and-a-half days of training together and improving. We want to move forward again. That’s what we’re concentrating on,” Borthwick said.
(Continue reading below…)
The Rugby Pod rounds up all last weekend’s Guinness Six Nations and Gallagher Premiership action
Anthony Watson is back in contention for the Wales game on Saturday week after being named in a 25-man training squad that has gathered in Oxford.
Bath and Lions wing Watson has yet to make an appearance in the Championship because of a calf problem but could be available for the visit of Wayne Pivac’s men to Twickenham.
“Anthony is progressing well. He’s been doing his rehab and was running earlier in the week. We’re monitoring him day by day to make sure you get the right balance in his training,” Borthwick said. “The Wales game is still nine or 10 days so we’ll just monitor it on a daily basis.”
BREAKING: https://t.co/A62lV46IWQ
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) February 26, 2020
Also among the 25 is Sale back row Mark Wilson, who is making his first appearance in an England squad in this Six Nations as he continues his comeback from a knee problem.
“Mark looks in good shape. He’s been back on the field for Sale. He’ll train with us over the next few days and we’ll see where he’s at,” Borthwick said.
“He brings an incredible work-rate. And there’s a toughness and resilience in the way he plays. He carries well and at the breakdown he’s excellent. But the sheer volume of work he gets through in a game is immense. He has a fantastic attitude as a professional.”
The virus has suddenly become a headache as we move towards the latter rounds of the tournamenthttps://t.co/2WLfOLDbiS
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) February 25, 2020
Prop Mako Vunipola and hooker Luke Cowan-Dickie are missing for family reasons, however. Vunipola has returned to Tonga for an unspecified length of time and is a major doubt for the penultimate round of the Six Nations.
Cowan-Dickie has been limited to two superb replacement appearances in this tournament because of the premature birth of his son.
Rookie full-back George Furbank is in camp to continue his rehabilitation from the groin problem that forced him to miss the 24-12 rout of Ireland.
– Press Association
WATCH: Top Wallabies reveal the Israel Folau drama split their World Cup squad
Comments on RugbyPass
We’re building a bridge but can't agree where the river is.
2 Go to commentsfirst no arms shoulder or helmet tackle into his rib cage is going to be so very painful even to watch. go back to RU mate.
1 Go to commentsBulls by 5. Plus another 50.
3 Go to commentsJohan Goosen avatar. Cute. Surely someone at RP knows how to do a google image search?
3 Go to commentsCan’t these games play a little earlier? Asking for a friend.
3 Go to commentsIt’s impressive that we can see huge stadiums with attendance in the 40 000 to 50 000 region. It shows how popular this competition is becoming. What is even more impressive is the massive growth in broadcast viewership. The URC is one of the two best leagues in the World, the other being the Top14.
7 Go to commentsChristie is not Sottish, like the majority of the Scotland team.
2 Go to commentsHold the phone, decline over-rated. Is it a one game, dead cat bounce or the real thing? Has the Penney dropped? Stay tuned.
45 Go to commentsTotally deserved win for the Crusaders Far smarter than the Chiefs who seem to be avoiding the basics when it matters Hotham showed them what was missing and Hannah seems a real find - a tad light but that can be fixed over time
8 Go to commentsGreat insight into the performance culture with Sarries and I predict Christie will be a fixture in the Scotland team now for some time to come. However, he is slightly missing his own point around Scotland “being soft” when he cites physicality examples in defence of that slight. The issue is much closer to the example he referenced around feeling off before a game but being told “it doesn’t matter, you can still play well” by Farrell. Until Scotland can get their psyche in that square, they will carry on folding under extreme pressure…
2 Go to comments> We are having to adapt, evolve and innovate more than when we were in Super Rugby where there was only really one style that everybody had to play to gain the most success. Have = able to? Interesting what that one style might be? I thought SA sides still had bad tours now, or at least bad schedule, months away? Those extra few hours flights have to be a killer though, no surprise to see their sides doing so badly at the start of the season each year. I wouldn’t enjoy that unfairness as a supporter.
7 Go to commentsThe problem for NZ, and Aus, is they ripped up the SR model and lost a massive chunk of revenue that hasn’t been replaced. Don’t forget SA clubs went North because they were left with no choice, Argy unceremoniously binned and Japan cast adrift. Now SR wasn’t perfect, far from it, but they’ve jumped into something without an effective plan, so far, to replace what they’ve lost. The biggest revenue potential now lies in Japan but it won’t be easy or quick to unlock, they are incredibly insular in culture as a nation. In the meantime, there is a serious time bomb sitting under SH rugby and if it happens then the current financial challenges will look like a picnic. IF the Boks follow their provincial teams and head north then it’s revenue meltdown. Not guaranteed to happen but the status quo is a very odd hybrid, with the Boks pointing one way and the clubs pointing the other way. And for as long as that remains then the threat is real.
45 Go to commentsI think Etene has had some good tuition, likely while at the Warriors to be a professional that helped his rugby jump, but he was certainly thrown in the deep end way too early. Should have arguably 20 less SR caps, and therefor a way better record that he does at his age, but his development would have been fast tracked by the need to satiate his signing away from league. Again, credit to him and others that he has done it so well. Easy to fall over under that pressure in the big leagues like that but he kept at it when I myself wasn’t sure he was good enough.
1 Go to commentsAwesome story. I wonder what a bigger American (SA) scene might have mean for Brex.
1 Go to comments“Johnny McNicholl and the Crusaders” save a Penney. Who has been in camp this week and showed them how to play?
8 Go to commentsSo, reports of the Crusaders’ demise / terminal decline are perhaps just - slightly - premature/exaggerated…? 🤔 Will we see a deep-dive into that by the estimable Rugbypass scribes, and maybe one or two mea culpas? Thought not.
8 Go to comments1. The Chiefs are rudderless without DMac, which enhances his AB chances 2. Chiefs pack are powderpuffs. The hard men arent there anymore 3. They had their golden title chance last yr and wont threaten this yr. Gone in second round of playoffs.
8 Go to commentsHonestly, why did you have to publish such a foolish article the day they play us? 😂
45 Go to comments> They are not standalone entities. They are linked to an amateur association which holds the FFR licence that allows the professional side to compete in the league. That’s a great rule. This looks like the chicken or egg professional scenario. How long is it going to be before the club can break even (if that is even a thing in French rugby)? If the locals aren’t into well it would be good to se them drop to amateur level (is it that far?). Hope they can reset from this level and be more practical, there will be a time when they can rebuild (if France has there setup right).
1 Go to commentsWhat about changing the ball? To something heavier and more pointed that bounces unpredictably. Not this almost round football used these days.
35 Go to comments