England hit by major setback as Lions star OUT of Nations Championship
England will be without Alex Mitchell for this Nations Championship block.
England will be without scrum-half Alex Mitchell for the entirety of the Nations Championship fixtures, it was confirmed on Tuesday.
The 29-year-old, who has become a vital member of the squad in recent seasons, suffered a hamstring injury while on duty for Northampton.
This is Mitchell‘s third hamstring injury this year and rules him out of November’s three matches, against Australia, Japan and New Zealand.
Scrum-half battle
It is subsequently a battle for the two scrum-half places in Sunday’s matchday 23 between Jack van Poortvliet, Ben Spencer and Harry Randall. However, with Spencer and Randall having been later inclusions in the group it would appear likely that Van Poortvliet will start at Twickenham against the Wallabies.
As mentioned, Mitchell departed the action in last weekend’s PREM fixture between Northampton and Gloucester, which was won by the Saints.
Mitchell, a 2025 British and Irish Lions tour pick, is now the second Saints casualty in England‘s camp after Archie McParland withdrew from the initial training squad with a calf injury.
However, there’s positive news regarding Mitchell and McParland’s half-back partner Fin Smith who took part in limited training on Tuesday.
Smith being available to face Australia on Sunday would be a real boost to Steve Borthwick, whose other options are Marcus Smith and George Ford.
Friday announcement
The England head coach is set to name his matchday 23 for the Allianz Stadium clash on Friday in what is a difficult opener to start the month.
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Australia had impressed since Les Kiss took the reins from Joe Schmidt, but recent defeats to the All Blacks have given them a reality check. However, on their day they will be a dangerous proposition to England, who of course come into November’s block having not played together since July.
Despite this, Borthwick’s charges are the bookmakers’ favourites to come out on top with home field advantage set to play its part this Sunday.
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