‘Worry’ for England flanker who suffered third injury in seven months as his Six Nations is thrown in doubt
Sam Underhill could miss the Six Nations after another injury setback.
England head coach Steve Borthwick will be sweating over the fitness of openside flanker Sam Underhill, who is in doubt for the upcoming Six Nations.
Underhill has sustained a third ankle injury in seven months which has thrown his availability for England this Championship into question.
The 28-year-old featured in all of the 2024 Six Nations matches, as well as their mid-year internationals against Japan and the All Blacks.
Sam Underhill in doubt for Six Nations
However, Underhill fell out of favour in the autumn with Tom Curry favoured in the number seven jersey for England’s clashes against New Zealand and Australia before returning to the starting XV against South Africa where he put in a standout performance.
That shift earned him another start in the final game of the year against Japan in November and he was almost certain to be included in the squad for the Six Nations.
However, Bath head of rugby Johann van Graan put Underhill’s involvement in the tournament in doubt when he confirmed that the back-rower will definitely miss the West Country club’s Investec Champions Cup match against Clermont Auvergne this weekend.
“Sam Underhill also took a knock to that ankle of his so we are investigating further what that looks like,” the Bath boss told reporters ahead of the match.
“Sam picked up the knock to the ankle setting up the try for Max Ojomoh and played on but after the game it was quite sore and that is a bit of a worry for him.
“Sam is a very important game for us and he plays very well in big games. Looking back at the Premiership final he was one of our best players that day.”
Van Graan was not willing to speculate on the length of time that Underhill could be sidelined until the club had more information, but there is certainly concerns that he won’t be available for the Six Nations.
As mentioned above, this is the flanker’s third ankle injury in seven months with the most recent one seeing him miss the start of the Premiership season after undergoing an operation following the mid-year internationals.
Opportunity knocks for young guns
While Underhill has been in excellent form for Bath, he isn’t seen as a core player for England as he was not one of the 17 players to receive a central contract from the RFU with Tom Curry and Ben Earl preferred.
He was also initially left out of the England squad for the 2023 Rugby World Cup but was called up as an injury replacement for Jack Willis and featured in the Bronze Final against Argentina.
If Underhill is to miss the Six Nations, England do have options in the form of Curry and Earl to cover the position while rising stars Henry Pollock and Guy Pepper would fancy their chances of breaking into the team.
There is also an opportunity for a number eight to fill his void with Tom Willis the obvious contender after his sterling start to the season with Saracens. Bath teammate Alfie Barbeary could also benefit from Underhill’s absence having returned from his own setback in fine form for Van Graan’s side.
Borthwick will name his England squad for the tournament next Tuesday and is set to already be without the services of George Furbank and Immanuel Feyi-Waboso.
