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George Ford will be given the chance to revive his international career after replacing Owen Farrell in England’s Six Nations training squad.
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Farrell will miss at least the opener against Scotland at Murrayfield on February 5 because of an ankle issue and England have suffered another blow after Jonny May was forced to withdraw because of a knee injury.
May’s place in the 36-man group that gathered in Brighton on Monday is taken by Elliot Daly, who provides cover at wing, full-back and centre.
Courtney Lawes is unable to train this week due to concussion so Daly’s Saracens team-mate Nick Isiekwe has been called in as a replacement.
Lawes was expected to take over the captaincy in Farrell’s absence, reprising a role he performed with distinction during the autumn, but the flanker now faces a race against time to be fit for the visit to Edinburgh.
“Following Owen Farrell’s withdrawal from the squad, Eddie Jones will now name a new team captain ahead of the Calcutta Cup fixture,” a Rugby Football Union statement read.
The extent of May’s injury has yet to be revealed, but the PA news agency understands he is expected to miss at least the first two rounds against Scotland and Italy.
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The 31-year-old has been a key attacking weapon for England over the last four years, running in a string of spectacular tries, but he must remain at Gloucester for treatment.
Daly was overlooked for the squad announced by Jones last week with the Australian head coach stating he needed more game time after recovering from a stress fracture, but he has been thrust back into the mix sooner than expected.
Freddie Steward has cemented his place as England’s first choice full-back – Daly’s old position – but the Saracen will compete against Jack Nowell, Max Malins, Ollie Hassell-Collins, Joe Marchant and Tommy Freeman for a place on the wing.
An update on Farrell’s return is expected this week, with the 30-year-old playmaker visiting a specialist on Monday to assess the severity of the injury sustained in training for Saracens.
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He had just recovered from a two-month absence following surgery to his left ankle only to damage the same joint on his right leg as he was preparing to make his comeback against London Irish.
Marcus Smith has established himself as England’s first-choice fly-half but Ford will be hoping he can play a supporting role from the bench for the Six Nations.
The Leicester ringmaster has been in stellar form for the Tigers but had been frozen out by Jones as part of his team rebuild.
Comments on RugbyPass
Let’s not forget about Ardie Savea just yet.
4 Go to commentsThe URC and the Euro Championscup can’t run at the same time, basically dilutes both competitions.
1 Go to comments“While Sotutu should start at No.8 for the All Blacks against England, but it’s only in that arena that he can prove just how good he really is.” And that my friends is where simply hasnt shone despite multiple opportunities. Even in this performance you can see what did him in in the test arena..he almost always still runs at the opposition almost ramrod upright making him easier to stop than it should be.
4 Go to commentsShould have been 0-0 and a message from SR CEO to both teams - “don’t worry about turning up next year”.
4 Go to commentsGreat work Owen Franks. A great of this team, scoring his first try for the Crusaders since 2010.He was beaming, justifiably. A fine win, he and the rest did the job up front.
1 Go to commentsDanny Care. Lang in die tand.
1 Go to commentsBig empty stadium does nothing for atmosphere but munster are playing well with solid performance
1 Go to commentsYes, Fiji can win the World Cup! With that belief plus their christian faith🙏 and hard work it is achievable. Great article. Ian Duncan Fiji resident 1981-84
2 Go to commentsInteresting comments about Touch. England’s hosting the Touch World Cup this year and the numbers have exploded since their last World Cup in 2019, something like 70% more teams and 40 nations taking part. And England Touch have made a big thing about how many universities are in their BUCS University Touch Championship as well as Sport England membership. Can only see this growing even more domestically as more people become aware of it
10 Go to comments“Cortez Ratima is light years ahead of anyone on current form, while TJ Perenara has also skyrocketed into contention following the unfortunate injury to the talented Cam Roigard.” At last some sanity. Hitherto so many pundits have been wittering on about Finlay Christie to the point one wondered if they were observing a FC in a parallel universe where the FC they saw wasnt just the mediocre Shayne Philpott project of Fosters hapless AB reign in the real world. Ratima, Perenara and Fakatava are the ONLY logical 9s for Razor now Roigard is crocked.
4 Go to commentsThis game was just as painful as the Hurricanes game. It was real fork-in-the-eye stuff.
4 Go to commentsNow if they could just fire the Crusaders ground PA guy who likes to play his dance music and just loves the sound of his own voice the entire game, even when play is going on. And I thought their brass band thing of a few years ago was bad.
5 Go to commentsUnfortunately when you lose by far the two form players this season in Roigard and Aumua, you're left replacing two game changing Tanks with a couple of pea-shooters. Which is also about the speed of TJs pass.
4 Go to commentsBit rich coming from the guy with zero loyalty to anyone or any team, including happily taking a players place in a league world cup squad because well, SBW wanted to play in it and thus an already named player got told he was no longer going. And airing stuff like this, which may or may not be true, doesn't exactly say you're a stand up guy either SBW. Just looking to keep his name in lights as usual.
38 Go to commentsTamati Tua. …the Taniwha NPC midfielder. Ollie Sapsford, Hawkes Bay NPC midfielder…doing well
4 Go to commentsFiji deserve to be in the rugby championship, fans love seeing the Fijian national team play, the Fijian Drua is a wonderful idea but the players can still be stolen to play for NZ and AUS…
2 Go to commentsThe first concern for this afternoon are wheather forecast…
1 Go to commentsWhy cant I watch Rugby games please?
1 Go to commentsBeautiful shot from Finau, end of story. Gutted for Shaun Stevenson though.
4 Go to commentsThe Chiefs definitely didn’t win ugly. They had the superior scrum, a dominant lineout, and their defence was excellent once the Waratahs scored their two tries (thanks to some lucky refereeing calls mind you). They put pressure on the Waratahs lineout throughout the game, and the mind boggles as to why the referee did not award a yellow card or a penalty try against the Waratahs for repeated scrum infringements on their own try line before Narawa’s first try. And the Chiefs were slick with their passing and running angles on attack. It was a dominant performance all round, even with many questionable refereeing decisions.
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