England’s head coach, Steve Borthwick, has confirmed he may rest some senior players including his captain, Maro Itoje, for all or part of the summer Nations Championship. A final decision will be taken next month but, barring an injury crisis, it seems probable England will be under fresh leadership for at least one of their July Tests.
Rather than a traditional tour to a single country, the new tournament will require Borthwick and his squad to play internationals on three different continents on successive weekends, starting against South Africa in Johannesburg on 4 July and finishing in Santiago del Estero in Argentina on 18 July.
