England have been hit by a triple injury blow before their final autumn Test with Ollie Lawrence, Jamie George and Tom Roebuck all ruled out of the game against Argentina on Sunday. The 19‑year-old uncapped wing Noah Caluori has been called into the squad and could profit from Roebuck’s absence.
All three injured players started the 33-19 win against the All Blacks on Saturday, forcing Steve Borthwick into a significant reshuffle as his side targets an 11th successive victory and a clean sweep of four November Tests for the first time since Eddie Jones’s first autumn in charge in 2016.
As revealed by the Guardian, Lawrence’s participation to face the Pumas was in grave doubt after he picked up a hamstring injury in the closing stages of the win on Saturday. His absence is a blow to Borthwick given how his centre partnership with Fraser Dingwall has blossomed. It is also a considerable setback for Lawrence, who battled back from a long-term achilles problem ahead of schedule after missing the British & Irish Lions tour of Australia.
The contenders to replace him include Elliot Daly, who is considered available for a first appearance since breaking his arm on the Lions tour , as well as Max Ojomoh and Henry Slade. More radical options include Henry Pollock, who was named on Tuesday on a four-man shortlist for the world breakthrough player of the year award, and Ben Earl. When Lawrence was replaced in the 79th minute against the All Blacks, Pollock moved to the backline.
George also has a hamstring injury and, though he endured lineout problems against New Zealand, the former captain’s experience will be sorely missed. Borthwick preferred to use Luke Cowan-Dickie as part of the “Pom Squad” against the All Blacks but could now hand the Sale hooker a start, while Theo Dan and the recalled Jamie Blamire will compete to take George’s place in the matchday 23.
Roebuck misses out with a foot injury, as was the case against Fiji this month. The 24-year-old battled back to take his place against New Zealand and again impressed on the right wing, scoring the late try that put England out of sight. With Tommy Freeman also absent Borthwick’s wing options are suddenly depleted but Henry Arundell, who came off the bench against Fiji to score a stunning try, is in the frame, as is the versatile Daly.
Alternatively, Borthwick may give a debut to the 6ft 4in Caluori, who has earned rave reviews for his aerial ability and scored five tries on his first Prem start for Saracens last month. He was also on the scoresheet for England A in their 29‑25 win against Spain at the weekend. Before the start of the autumn campaign, Borthwick said: “I think he could certainly feature this autumn. He has been on the radar for a considerable period of time.”
The head coach has also talked up the idea of deploying Pollock out of position. “We’ve been looking at Henry Pollock on the wing,” said Borthwick, who has also added Charlie Ewels to the squad in place of Ollie Chessum, who is still out after missing the All Blacks game with a foot injury. “[Henry’s] pace is the match of a lot of wingers. That kind of versatility is really important to us.”
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In better news for Borthwick, Freddie Steward is available despite going off on Saturday after 22 minutes with a head injury. He has passed stages two and three of the head injury assessment protocols following his permanent removal against the All Blacks.
