Owen Farrell has been ruled out of England’s training camp this week with a head injury, dealing Eddie Jones a major setback and leaving the head coach without his two main candidates for the captaincy as he steps up preparations in Jersey.
Farrell sustained a head injury in Saracens’ victory against Exeter on Saturday and after the game his director of rugby, Mark McCall, said the playmaker was facing a 12-day stand‑down period. Accordingly, Farrell has not travelled to Jersey and will go through the return to play protocols at home. Henry Slade has earned a reprieve as a result.
Jonny May has withdrawn with a dislocated elbow and Henry Arundell will travel to Jersey for rehab. Sale’s Tom Roebuck and Newcastle’s Adam Radwan have also been called up.
Courtney Lawes was Jones’s preferred captain for the summer tour of Australia but he is also out of action with a head injury, sustained in late September. He withdrew from the camp last Friday and is expected to see a specialist this week after showing symptoms last week.
Lawes and Farrell could yet prove their fitness for England’s opening autumn Test against Argentina a week on Sunday but they must be considered doubtful at this stage. At the very least, their absences are a major blow to England and Jones, who puts considerable emphasis on training camps before international campaigns.
Tom Curry, who led England against Scotland and Italy during the Six Nations when Farrell and Lawes were injured, would be among the contenders for the captaincy against the Pumas. Ellis Genge and Luke Cowan-Dickie would also be in the frame.
Cowan-Dickie sustained a knee injury against Saracens but he has travelled to Jersey with the rest of the squad. If he proves his fitness it would be a considerable relief for England because Jamie George is already sidelined and the two other hookers in the squad – Jack Singleton and George McGuigan – have three caps between them.
Slade was a surprise omission from the initial squad last week with Jones taking a patient approach with the Exeter centre, who missed the series against the Wallabies to undergo shoulder surgery. If Farrell misses out against Argentina, however, he could go straight into midfield alongside Manu Tuilagi. May’s withdrawal was expected after a nasty injury against London Irish on Friday night. It is more bad luck for England’s second-highest tryscorer who tested positive for Covid in Australia in the summer, having battled back from a long-term knee injury.
Arundell aggravated a previous foot injury in the same match but there is hope he will be fit for the start of the autumn campaign.
The 21-year-old Roebuck is rewarded for an impressive start to the season with Sale with a first call-up in an area England are suddenly looking light without May and with Anthony Watson still not deemed ready to return and Tommy Freeman also out of action.
Jones has also called up Charlie Atkinson – among the players made redundant by Wasps last week – as a “training player” given Marcus Smith was the only specialist fly-half after Farrell’s absence. Will Stuart has also travelled to Jersey for rehab on a knee injury.
Meanwhile, England could play matches at Twickenham on Friday nights after it was confirmed that South Africa and New Zealand would do so next August as part of their World Cup preparations, but the Rugby Football Union said weekends were favoured because of supporters’ preference and commercial imperatives
Historically, the RFU has strongly resisted calls from the Six Nations to stage Friday night matches despite doing so on the opening night of the 2015 World Cup.
“It’s not often we get the chance to host a Friday evening match under the lights at Twickenham and so it’s fitting that we welcome two of the powerhouses of global rugby,” the RFU’s chief executive, Bill Sweeney, said.
