England have ruled scrum-halves Alex Mitchell and Archie McParland out of Sunday’s autumn opener against Australia, deepening the disruption at half-back.
With first-choice fly-half Fin Smith racing to recover from a calf strain in time for the Wallabies’ visit to Allianz Stadium, England have been forced to rule out Mitchell and McParland as well.
Mitchell damaged his hamstring while playing for Northampton against Gloucester on Saturday and will undergo a scan. That places his involvement in the second phase of the Nations Championship in doubt.
McParland missed the 28-14 victory at Franklin’s Gardens because of a calf issue he sustained during England’s training camp last week. England hope he will recover in time to face Japan or New Zealand later in the month.
Borthwick calls up replacements
Head coach Steve Borthwick has called up Ben Spencer and Harry Randall to fill the vacancies in his 36-man squad. Spencer is just three games into his comeback from shoulder surgery with Bath, but he appeared as a replacement in the climax of England’s July tour against Argentina. Randall has been an ever-present for Bristol so far this season.
Both players will compete to support Leicester’s Jack van Poortvliet, who reclaimed the number nine jersey during the summer and would have competed with Mitchell for the starting role against Australia.
Immanuel Feyi-Waboso and Seb Atkinson have proved their fitness after hamstring and knee problems by starting for Exeter and Gloucester, earning promotion into the squad. As a result, Noah Caluori and Max Ojomoh drop out of the 36-man group, which gathers at England’s Surrey training base on Monday evening.
Smith faces a fitness deadline
Fin Smith has until Wednesday to show he can pull the strings in the Ella Mobbs Trophy showdown. If he is ruled out, England will turn to George Ford, Marcus Smith or Charlie Atkinson.
England have also made one change to the forwards named a week ago. Rookie hooker Kepueli Tuipulotu has withdrawn with a knee injury sustained during last week’s three-day training camp. Theo Dan comes in as his replacement and adds depth behind Jamie George and Luke Cowan-Dickie.
After facing Australia, England will play Japan and New Zealand on successive Saturdays. They then enter the Nations Championship finals weekend, which runs from November 27 to November 29.