Charlie Bracken called into England camp as McParland withdraws through illness

Charlie Bracken has been called into Steve Borthwick’s England alignment camp after Northampton Saints scrum-half Archie McParland was forced to withdraw through illness, with the squad gathering at Pennyhill Park on Sunday ahead of the autumn Nations Championship.

Bracken, 22, is the son of Kyran Bracken, who won the Rugby World Cup with England in 2003 as a scrum-half — the same position his son now occupies at Saracens. The younger Bracken has made just over 50 appearances for the club since his debut in the 2021/22 season, which included a loan spell at Ampthill in the Championship, and was a regular starter for England Under-20s in 2022 and 2023.

His call-up is a timely one, with Borthwick already short of options at nine. Northampton’s Alex Mitchell is rehabbing a hamstring injury and Bath’s Ben Spencer is working his way back from a shoulder problem, leaving Bracken to join Bristol’s Harry Randall and Leicester’s Jack van Poortvliet as the three scrum-halves in a 36-man group.

The camp marks the beginning of England’s preparations for a busy autumn schedule. They host Australia at Allianz Stadium, Twickenham on 8 November in Round 4 of the Nations Championship, before facing Japan and New Zealand ahead of a finals weekend.

The blow falls hardest on McParland, who had been set for a significant opportunity to impress Borthwick with his Northampton clubmates Mitchell and Spencer both sidelined. The Saints youngster will now have to wait for another chance to stake his claim.

Jamie George and Ollie Chessum remain listed in the rehabilitation group and are not yet part of the main training squad.