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Jack Nowell out of England's Six Nations decider and possibly entire Autumn internationals

By PA
(Photo by PA)

England must complete their autumn campaign without Jack Nowell after the Exeter wing played through ruptured toe ligaments to help the Chiefs claim their first double.

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Nowell’s name will be missing when Eddie Jones on Monday morning announces his squad for the final 2020 Six Nations match against Italy and the four-Test Autumn Nations Cup.

England will be reinforced by players from Exeter and Wasps in the wake of Saturday’s hard fought Gallagher Premiership final at Twickenham with Jones set to pick back-rower Jack Willis in the group of around 32 players.

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Jones must find a replacement for Nowell with the 27-year-old due to undergo surgery this week once Exeter’s double celebrations eventually subside after he prioritised the biggest week in his club’s history over international duty.

Intense rehabilitation enabled him to take part in the Champions Cup and Premiership finals after suffering the damage in the final 10 minutes of the European semi-final against Toulouse a month ago.

“I’ve ruptured all the ligaments around my toe, which is not ideal,” Nowell said after Wasps were dispatched 19-13 at Twickenham.

“I’ve been strapped up for the last two weeks and have had to dig deep a little bit. Our physios and doctors have got me in a position where I can be on the field and unfortunately I’m going to have to get it fixed next week.

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“After speaking to the surgeon, I might be out for a little while. After I’ve sobered up in the next couple of days I will catch up with him about the ins and outs.

“I’m not going to lie, it’s been horrendous. It’s my big toe, so any drive off that has been very, very sore.

“The way I’ve seen it is that I would have never forgiven myself if I didn’t give these two games a go.”

Five of Exeter’s newly-crowned Premiership champions are expected to arrive into England’s camp in Teddington in advance of the trip to Rome, where the title will be on the line.

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Hooker Luke Cowan-Dickie, prop Harry Williams, lock Jonny Hill and centres Henry Slade and Ollie Devoto are likely to be summoned.

Also present should be Willis, the uncapped 23-year-old who was magnificent in defeat against Exeter and gets his chance to shine on the international stage after establishing himself as the Premiership’s foremost turnover specialist.

Willis was due to tour South Africa in 2018 but was forced to withdraw from Jones’ squad with a knee injury before his development was further hindered by an ankle problem.

Now restored to full health, the uncapped flanker has been dominating breakdowns this season while also producing strong carrying and defensive shifts.

Lock Joe Launchbury and scrum-half Dan Robson are additional probable Wasps call-ups as England plan for their first game since March in the wake of the Barbarians fixture being cancelled for coronavirus breaches.

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O
Oh no, not him again? 2 hours ago
England internationals disagree on final play execution vs All Blacks

Okay, so we blew it big time on Saturday. So rather than repeating what most people have all ready said, what do I want to see from Borthwick going forward?


Let's keep Marcus Smith on the pitch if he's fit and playing well. I was really pleased with his goal kicking. It used to be his weakness. I feel sympathy for George Ford who hadn't kicked all match and then had a kick to win the game. You hear pundits and commentators commend kickers who have come off the bench and pulled that off. Its not easy. If Steve B continues to substitute players with no clear reason then he is going to get criticised.


On paper I thought England would beat NZ if they played to their potential and didn't show NZ too much respect. Okay, the off the ball tackles certainly stopped England scoring tries, but I would have liked to see more smashing over gainlines and less kicking for position. Yes, I also know it's the Springbok endorsed world cup double winning formula but the Kiwi defence isn't the Bok defence, is it. If you have the power to put Smith on the front foot then why muzzle him? I guess what I'm saying is back, yourself. Why give the momentum to a team like NZ? Why feed the beast? Don't give the ball to NZ. Well d'uh.


Our scrum is a long term weakness. If you are going to play Itoje then he needs an ogre next door and a decent front row. Where is our third world class lock? Where are are realible front row bench replacements? The England scrum has been flakey for a while now. It blows hot and cold. Our front five bench is not world class.


On the positive side I love our starting backrow right now. I'd like to see them stick together through to the next world cup.


Anyway, there is always another Saturday.

7 Go to comments
C
CO 2 hours ago
Scott Robertson responds to criticism over All Blacks' handling errors

Robertson is more a manager of coaches than a coach so it comes down to intent of outcomes at a high level. I like his intent, I like the fact his Allblacks are really driving the outcomes however as he's pointed out the high error rates are not test level and their control of the game is driving both wins and losses. England didn't have to play a lot of rugby, they made far fewer mistakes and were extremely unlucky not to win.


In fact the English team were very early in their season and should've been comfortably beaten by an Allblacks team that had played multiple tests together.


Razor has himself recognised that to be the best they'll have to sort out the crisis levels of mistakes that have really increased since the first two tests against England.


Early tackles were a classic example of hyper enthusiasm to not give an inch, that passion that Razor has achieved is going to be formidable once the unforced errors are eliminated.


That's his secret, he's already rebuilt the passion and that's the most important aspect, its inevitable that he'll now eradicate the unforced errors. When that happens a fellow tier one nation is going to get thrashed. I don't think it will be until 2025 though.


The Allblacks will lose both tests against Ireland and France if they play high error rates rugby like they did against England.


To get the unforced errors under control he's going to be needing to handover the number eight role to Sititi and reset expectations of what loose forwards do. Establish a clear distinction with a large, swarthy lineout jumper at six that is a feared runner and dominant tackler and a turnover specialist at seven that is abrasive in contact. He'll then need to build depth behind the three starters and ruthlessly select for that group to be peaking in 2027 in hit Australian conditions on firm, dry grounds.


It's going to help him that Savea is shifting to the worst super rugby franchise where he's going to struggle behind a beaten pack every week.


The under performing loose forward trio is the key driver of the high error rates and unacceptable turn overs due to awol link work. Sititi is looking like he's superman compared to his openside and eight.


At this late stage in the season they shouldn't be operating with just the one outstanding loose forward out of four selected for the English test. That's an abject failure but I think Robertson's sacrificing link quality on purpose to build passion amongst the junior Allblacks as they see the reverential treatment the old warhorses are receiving for their long term hard graft.


It's unfortunately losing test matches and making what should be comfortable wins into nail biters but it's early in the world cup cycle so perhaps it's a sacrifice worth making.


However if this was F1 then Sam Cane would be Riccardo and Ardie would be heading into Perez territory so the loose forwards desperately need revitalisation through a rebuild over the next season to complement the formidable tight five.

28 Go to comments
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