Janse van Rensburg stood down indefinitely as Fin Smith battles to face Australia

Benhard Janse van Rensburg will play no part in England’s autumn Nations Championship campaign after being stood down from full rugby duties indefinitely, while fly-half Fin Smith is in a race against time to face Australia at Allianz Stadium on November 8.

Head coach Steve Borthwick confirmed that Van Rensburg, who made his Test debut against Fiji in July, has been advised by a specialist to complete several weeks of non-contact work following two significant concussions in his last three club games. The most recent came on October 3, when the Bristol centre was knocked unconscious attempting a tackle on Henry Pollock during Northampton’s match against his own side.

“Benhard has seen a specialist and been advised to take a number of weeks of non-contact work before his reintroduction to rugby over the coming weeks,” Borthwick said. The South African-born centre will now have to wait until the Six Nations to win his third cap.

Fin Smith, meanwhile, will be assessed until Wednesday to determine whether the calf strain he sustained playing for Northampton against Leicester on Saturday has cleared sufficiently. Should the first-choice fly-half be ruled out, George Ford or Marcus Smith will step in to direct England’s attack against the Wallabies.

“Fin has made good progress over the last couple of days and we’re hopeful of his availability against Australia, but that remains unclear at this stage,” Borthwick said.

Flanker Guy Pepper is another absentee, ruled out of all four autumn fixtures — Tests against Australia, Japan and New Zealand, plus finals weekend — due to the ankle injury he picked up playing for Bath against Gloucester on Friday. There is more encouraging news on Seb Atkinson (knee) and Immanuel Feyi-Waboso (hamstring), with both players on track to feature for their respective clubs this weekend.

England’s Leicester and Northampton contingent reported to camp on Sunday, just 24 hours after a heated half-time confrontation during the East Midlands derby. Tigers lock Ollie Chessum and Saints number eight Pollock were central to the flashpoint, but Borthwick was broadly welcoming of the competitive intensity on display.

“To be clear, nothing overtly illegal,” Borthwick said. “Do I like seeing intensity, passion, pride? Yes. Do I want the players to bring that passion and pride in an England shirt? Absolutely. What I think is very good is that the players compete in the way they do one day and then they can come in and be great mates the next day. Ollie and Henry are great mates.”

Borthwick has indicated that performances this autumn will carry significant weight in his selection thinking ahead of the Six Nations.