England lose key playmaker for Calcutta Cup but Ollie Lawrence in contention to start
Ollie Lawrence in action for England in the 2023 Rugby World Cup.
England will be without Alex Mitchell for their encounter with Scotland after he suffered a knee injury in training.
It is a significant blow for head coach Steve Borthwick with the Northampton Saints man becoming the first choice scrum-half over the past few months.
Mitchell impressed as the Red Rose reached the Rugby World Cup semi-final and has continued that fine form during the 2023/24 campaign.
Started in opening rounds
As a result, he started in the first Six Nations rounds against Italy and Wales and was set to be selected in the XV for the Calcutta Cup.
However, he will definitely sit out this encounter, with a full prognosis yet to be determined. According to the Rugby Football Union, it requires further examination before his return date can be set.
Bristol Bears’ livewire half-back Harry Randall has been named as Mitchell’s replacement and will compete with Danny Care and Ben Spencer for a place in the 23.
Elsewhere, there is better news for England with Ollie Lawrence fit enough to be selected in the updated 36-man squad.
Lawrence has been nursing a hip injury and was not deemed to have recovered when Borthwick named his training group a few days ago, but he has made good progress since then.
Centre conundrum
That means Fraser Dingwall could drop out of the 23 for the Scotland clash at Murrayfield, given that both the Bath centre and Manu Tuilagi are available.
Dingwall started the first two matches, scoring his first Test try against Wales, but Borthwick may want to have a bit more out-and-out power in that slot.
Borthwick will name his squad for the match on Thursday as the Red Rose look to go three from three in the tournament.
They have beaten Italy and Wales in 2024 so far, but the Scotsmen are currently on a run of three successive triumphs over the English.
England have only won once in the past six meetings against Scotland, with their last success coming at Murrayfield in 2020.
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