Bath star answers England SOS after another setback before Six Nations

Bath lock Charlie Ewels has been called into the England squad ahead of the opening round of the Six Nations.

The 30-Test cap international will arrive in Girona later today to join the training squad ahead of their opening game against Italy.

Nick Isiekwe ruled out

Ewels joins the group after Saracens lock Nick Isiekwe returned home because of illness.

Isiekwe’s departure comes after head coach Steve Borthwick was forced into making changes to his England squad earlier this week.

Centres Oscar Beard and Ollie Lawrence and hooker Luke Cowan-Dickie had to be replaced in the squad after sustaining injuries in the final pool stage round of the Investec Champions Cup.

They were replaced by Bath backs Max Ojomoh and Will Muir and Newcastle hooker Jamie Blamire.

As for Ewels, he is looking to earn his first Test cap since 2022 after sustaining a knee injury that saw him miss the remainder of the 2022/23 season.

He went on loan to the Bulls last year in an attempt to make England’s Rugby World Cup squad but ultimately missed out. He has been in fine form for Bath since his return, helping them to third place on the overall standings and sealed a place in the Investec Champions Cup round-of-16.

He will be looking to make amends for his performance during the 2022 Six Nations, during which he set the unwanted record for the quickest red card in the tournament’s history, receiving his marching orders in the 82nd second of the clash against Ireland.

Meanwhile, Borthwick has called on his players to deliver a better performance in this year’s Six Nations after finishing in fourth place in 2023.

“What has happened sometimes is England have been coming into the tournament and we are often talked about being favourites, and essentially England’s performance has not been anywhere near that level,” Borthwick said.

“The team knows that, and the team wants to deliver better, and the supporters deserve better.”

Updated England Six Nations squad

Forwards: Jamie Blamire, Ollie Chessum, Dan Cole, Alex Coles, Chandler Cunningham-South, Ben Curry, Theo Dan, Alex Dombrandt, Ben Earl, Ellis Genge, Jamie George, Joe Heyes, Nick Isiekwe, Maro Itoje, Joe Marler, Beno Obano, Tom Pearson, Ethan Roots, Will Stuart, Sam Underhill

Backs: Danny Care, Elliot Daly, Fraser Dingwall, Immanuel Feyi-Waboso, George Ford, Tommy Freeman, George Furbank, Alex Mitchell, Will Muir Max Ojomoh, Tom Roebuck, Henry Slade, Fin Smith, Marcus Smith, Ben Spencer, Freddie Steward

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