England’s preparations have been disrupted by a flurry of late withdrawals before Saturday’s opening Test of the Autumn Nations Series against New Zealand. Ollie Chessum, Charlie Ewels and Tom Roebuck have all been released from the 36-man squad, with Alex Coles, Ted Hill and George Ford called up to replace them.
Chessum had been poised to start, potentially on the blindside flank, before the Leicester forward sustained a knee injury towards the end of England’s training camp in Spain. The player is awaiting further specialist assessment but there are fears he could miss all four November Tests.
