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Courtney Lawes pulls out of Steve Borthwick’s England squad for the opening Six Nations match against Scotland… while George McGuigan is injured and Jamie George suffers a concussion.
- Courtney Lawes withdraws from Steve Borthwick’s England squad due to injury
- George McGuigan is also injured and Jamie George suffers a concussion.
- Therefore, the English selector Borthwick already faces a crisis of hookers
Courtney Lawes looks set to miss the start of England’s Six Nations campaign after she withdrew from Steve Borthwick’s squad preparing for the Championship opener with Scotland.
And with George McGuigan also injured and Jamie George suffering a concussion, New England head coach Borthwick is already facing a whore crisis.
Northampton striker Lawes suffered a calf injury in Champions Cup action against La Rochelle on Saturday. He has also suffered head and gluteal injuries this season.
Veteran forward Courtney Lawes will miss the start of England’s Six Nations campaign
Gloucester’s McGuigan also withdrew from the England squad that assembled on Monday morning to prepare for the Six Nations due to a knee injury.
Borthwick said: ‘Both players are undergoing scans and are seeing specialists to get the results of those scans as soon as possible.
‘Both are out of training this week. That’s final, but not necessarily for the next week. Clearly neither injury was looking good, but what I would prefer to do is get the full information and then make a plan.”
Bath hooker Tom Dunn and Northampton striker David Ribbans have been called up by Borthwick as replacements.
Lawes was sent off when Northampton lost to La Rochelle in the Heineken Champions Cup
He has withdrawn from Steve Borthwick’s squad, which is preparing for his Scotland debut.
While the loss of experienced striker Lawes is a huge blow to England, the biggest concern is arguably hook position.
George received a severe blow to the head against Edinburgh while playing for Saracens on Sunday night.
He was sent for head injury evaluation at the same time he was penalized for a high tackle on Luke Crosbie, before returning to the field.
George was subsequently removed from the game at half time by the matchday’s independent doctor.
Gloucester’s McGuigan also withdrew from the England squad due to a knee injury.
It means he must go through a 12-day waiting period, making it unlikely that he will face Scotland at Twickenham on February 4.
With Exeter’s Luke Cowan-Dickie not included in the England squad due to an ankle injury and George and McGuigan now out of line, it has left Borthwick with a headache.
Jack Walker and Dunn are the main hooking contenders now involved against Scotland.