- Jamie George was replaced by Maro Itoje as England’s new captain last week
- George has now been forced to withdraw from England’s Six Nations squad
- George, who picked up a hamstring injury, is one of five players to drop out
Jamie George is one of five players who have been forced to withdraw from England’s Six Nations squad – a week after he was deposed as captain – while the disruption has brought a call-up for Northampton wonderkid Henry Pollock.
George was informed that he was being replaced by Maro Itoje as skipper of the national team, the day before head coach Steve Borthwick named a 36-man squad to prepare for the forthcoming Six Nations campaign.
The hooker then limped off late in Saracens’ Champions Cup defeat against Castres with a hamstring injury and after having a scan on the injured area, he has been ruled out.
England have been assailed by fresh setbacks as they prepare to start their training camp in Girona, northern Spain.
In addition to the loss of George, Borthwick has been hit by injuries to scrum-halves Alex Mitchell and Jack van Poortvliet, No 8 Alex Dombrandt and lock Alex Coles.
George’s place has been taken by Northampton’s Curtis Langdon – as due reward for supreme club form – while Ben Spencer of Bath and Sale’s Raffi Quirke have come back in as pedigree scrum-half reinforcements.
Jamie George is one of five players who have been forced to withdraw from England’s Six Nations squad due to injury – a week after the 34-year-old was deposed as captain
George limped off in Saracens’ Champions Cup defeat by Castres with a hamstring problem
The injury issues come as a major blow to Steve Borthwick in the build-up to the Six Nations
Gloucester lock Arthur Clark – who represented England ‘A’ in November – has also been called up, but the summons for Pollock is the stand-out development. Having just turned 20, the Saints flanker has been taking the club game by storm after being part of the England Under 20 side which won the junior World Cup last year. He is seen as one of the country’s brightest, breakthrough prospects and was unfortunate to be omitted from the original squad.
The withdrawal of Dombrandt increases the possibility that Saracens’ rampaging No 8, Tom Willis, can earn a place in the match-day 23 for the championship opener against Ireland in Dublin on February 1.
And now that he is going into camp, Pollock has the chance to follow his age-group team-mate Asher Opoku-Fordjour, by being fast-tracked for senior caps.
At hooker, in the absence of George, Luke Cowan-Dickie’s form and experience means that Sale’s Lion is the man most likely to fill the void left by the withdrawal of the recent former captain, with Theo Dan the other primary contender.
If Mitchell was unavailable to face the Irish, it would be a major blow to Borthwick and England, but he is travelling to Spain to continue rehab and the hope is that he will be cleared to train fully next week, with a view to playing in Dublin.
