England are hoping to welcome back the cavalry for next week’s Calcutta Cup with Steve Borthwick revealing Ollie Lawrence could make his comeback against Scotland at Murrayfield.
Borthwick has also revealed that Fin Smith will be available when England go in search of a first win in Edinburgh since 2022 while Tom Roebuck is also in contention to return after the Sale winger was deemed not quite ready to face Wales this Saturday.
Lawrence’s return from a knee injury would be a boost to Borthwick and further bolster his options at centre. Tommy Freeman has been deployed at centre against Wales, just as he was in Cardiff last year and against Australia in the autumn, but Lawrence shone alongside Fraser Dingwall in England’s statement victory over the All Blacks.
Lawrence was one of five players England were planning on taking to Girona for their warm-weather training camp before it was deemed that the loosehead prop Fin Baxter requires surgery and that Ben Curry would be better served continuing his recovery from a hamstring injury with Sale. “Ollie Lawrence is gradually increasing the load of where he needs to be and he’s looking good, maybe a chance next week but it’s going to be tight,” said Borthwick.
Roebuck was only “a few days away” when Borthwick named his team to face Wales on Monday so will come back into the mix for Scotland. Smith has been blighted by a calf injury but he made a return to full training on Monday and comes into the mix for Scotland alongside his Northampton team-mate George Furbank, who has successfully reintegrated back into the squad after numerous injury problems including a broken arm and persistent calf issue.
“It’s a while since we’ve seen him in camp, and he’s been class,” added Borthwick. “You can see what a class player he is, and what he’s brought onto the training field. Some of the touches he has brought into the training games have been terrific. It’s great that another player who adds versatility is coming into the selection mix, who has the ability to play 15, 10 and on the wing also. I’m really pleased to see George Furbank back.”
In worse news for Borthwick, Baxter has been ruled out of the entire Six Nations as a result of surgery, leaving England light at loosehead prop. Ellis Genge starts against Wales while Bevan Rodd, who has 10 caps to date, is on the bench. The uncapped Emmanuel Iyogun is the other loosehead prop in the training squad. Curry could yet feature in the later part of the tournament after taking advice from a specialist to undergo further treatment.
