Steve Borthwick gives explanation for move that left England XV struggling

England head coach Steve Borthwick has revealed Joe Carpenter left the field with a “tight hamstring” in England XV’s defeat to France XV, but does not expect the injury to be serious.

The Sale Sharks full-back left the field after an hour in England XV’s 26-24 loss, leaving his side’s backline in tatters for the final 20 minutes.

Already with substitute centre Oscar Beard on the wing after Immanuel Feyi-Waboso’s red card (a 20-minute red card), Carpenter’s club-mate Raffi Quirke, a scrum-half, was forced to play on the wing, shifting Henry Slade to full-back.

This was a move that may have come as a surprise to those watching, as there was nothing discernibly wrong with the 23-year-old, and it left England with a ramshackle back division, but it was one made out of necessity, Borthwick confirmed after the match. He added that he was reluctant to take any risks with his player after the concern was flagged, particularly with his side leading 24-12 at that point.

“Joe Carpenter left the field with a little tight hamstring, so we took no chances with that,” the head coach said. “That will get fully assessed, but we don’t anticipate that being an issue.”

The dangers of having a 6-2 split on the bench, with no specialist back-three players among the replacements, were laid bare at Allianz Stadium, but England co-captain George Ford said that situations like those are what Test match rugby is about.

“It was a bit mix-and-match at times,” the fly-half said. “I think Raffi ended up on the wing, Sladey was at full-back, Oscar started on the wing, then went to centre. But that’s the way a Test match is played these days, you’ve got to have versatility in your backline, you’ve got to be able to adapt on the go.”

Borthwick reported that the matchday squad otherwise came away unscathed. He, meanwhile, provided an update on flanker Ben Curry, who continues to rehab a hamstring injury ahead of England’s series with Argentina.

“He’s tracking really well,” he said. “He did a very good session yesterday. He’s on track to be fit and available to go.”