Steve Borthwick injury update suggests Calcutta Cup selection dilemma

England head coach Steve Borthwick appears confident that Bath centre Ollie Lawrence will be available for the meeting with Scotland next Saturday in round two of the Guinness Six Nations.

A knee injury prevented Lawrence from taking part in round one as England got their campaign underway with a 48-7 victory over Wales at Twickenham’s Allianz Stadium. Tommy Freeman played at outside centre in Lawrence’s place, partnering his Northampton Saints club-mate Fraser Dingwall.

While there are several players who are ruled out of the Championship entirely with injuries, Lawrence is one of a handful of injured players who are still part of Borthwick’s Six Nations squad, with Immanuel Feyi-Waboso joining that list, which also includes Fin Smith, last week due to a hamstring injury after initially being named to start against Wales.

However, when Borthwick was asked about his injured contingent after the match, he solely focused on Lawrence, suggesting the 26-year-old is in his plans to feature in the Calcutta Cup.

“Late in the week, Ollie Lawrence was doing very well,” he said. “We trained him very well. He ran [on Friday] and there were very positive reports around that, but I get the full medical report [on Sunday].”

Lawrence’s potential return would likely require a reshuffle to England’s backline, with a start at outside centre pushing Tommy Freeman onto the wing, where he finished the match against Wales.

There is the slim possibility that Lawrence starts at inside centre, but that is not only his less comfortable role, but he has yet to partner Freeman in the midfield.

The dilemma Borthwick then has on his hands is which winger he would lose to accommodate Freeman on the wing.

Tom Roebuck, who came in to replace Feyi-Waboso in his first match since breaking his toe against the All Blacks in November, has established himself as a starter in Borthwick’s England XV, but Henry Arundell, who made his first start since the 2023 World Cup, bagged a hat-trick in the first half at the Allianz Stadium.

The decision is at least made simpler with Feyi-Waboso being ruled out for the Championship, as he would have certainly started had he been available.

Such a tough decision may mean Lawrence misses out on selection despite being fit.

After the match, both Borthwick and captain Jamie George were effusive in their praise of the 23-year-old Arundell, who made a strong case to keep hold of the No.11 jersey.

“We all know Henry is a player who has incredible ability with running the ball, and his ability to find the try line is excellent,” Borthwick said after the Bath star scored his 11th try in 12 Tests.

“What I’ve been really impressed by is over the last number of months his attitude to go and improve other aspects of his game. He’s gone away post the autumn, and you can all see it, he’s worked exceptionally hard on some other areas, and he’s come back to the Six Nations an even better player.

“I think there’s a lot of potential amongst this whole squad. What’s pleasing me now is the level of experience we have, and younger players emerging. Henry’s one of those. I think that the speed we now have on our edges, the athleticism we have in our back-row and the tactical smarts we have around our nine and ten, I think that blend across the board is very good.

George added: “He’s great. He’s been brilliant. He really reminds me of Jonny May in so many ways in terms of his diligence and preparation. The way that he trains, the way that he’s gone away, like Steve said, and developed so many different areas of his game and when you’ve got a player like that on the field, it just gives everyone else so much confidence that if we work hard in the middle and create space for someone like that, he’s going to capitalise on it. So I thought he was fantastic today in all areas of the game.”