Mitchell and McParland injuries force Borthwick into double scrum-half reshuffle for Australia clash

Steve Borthwick has been forced into an unplanned scrum-half reshuffle for England’s Nations Championship campaign, calling up Bath captain Ben Spencer and Bristol’s Harry Randall after Northampton’s Alex Mitchell and Archie McParland were both ruled out of Sunday’s match against Australia.

Mitchell sustained a hamstring injury during Northampton’s win over Gloucester at the weekend and will undergo a scan to establish the extent of the damage. McParland had already missed that fixture due to a calf injury picked up in England training. Both players had been part of Borthwick’s previous training squad, while Spencer and Randall had been left out — a situation now reversed by circumstance.

The injury disruption extends beyond the scrum-half position, with five changes made to the training squad in total. In the forwards, a knee injury to Kepueli Tuipulotu has handed Saracens hooker Theo Dan a recall. In the backs, fit-again centre Seb Atkinson comes in for Max Ojomoh, and Immanuel Feyi-Waboso returns on the wing at the expense of Noah Caluori.

The squad of 20 forwards and 16 backs assembled at England’s Performance Centre at Pennyhill Park on Monday evening ahead of a four-match November programme. After facing Australia, England host Japan and New Zealand at Allianz Stadium before Finals Weekend runs from 27 to 29 November.

Borthwick acknowledged the added weight these autumn fixtures carry with next year’s Rugby World Cup on the horizon. “These fixtures take on added significance this Autumn as they represent our final opportunity to face Southern Hemisphere opposition before next year’s Rugby World Cup,” he said. “Facing Australia next Sunday is an exciting challenge. They have played a significant amount of Test rugby in recent months, and we know the quality and experience they will bring.”

England’s full Nations Championship squad is as follows.

Forwards: Fin Baxter (Harlequins), Ollie Chessum (Leicester Tigers), Arthur Clark (Gloucester Rugby), Alex Coles (Northampton Saints), Luke Cowan-Dickie (Sale Sharks), Ben Curry (Sale Sharks), Tom Curry (Sale Sharks), Theo Dan (Saracens), Ben Earl (Saracens), Greg Fisilau (Exeter Chiefs), Jamie George (Saracens), Ellis Genge (Bristol Bears), Joe Heyes (Leicester Tigers), Maro Itoje (Saracens), Emmanuel Iyogun (Northampton Saints), George Martin (Saracens), Asher Opoku-Fordjour (Sale Sharks), Tom Pearson (Northampton Saints), Henry Pollock (Northampton Saints), Will Stuart (Bath Rugby).

Backs: Seb Atkinson (Gloucester Rugby), Fraser Dingwall (Northampton Saints), Immanuel Feyi-Waboso (Exeter Chiefs), George Ford (Sale Sharks), Tommy Freeman (Northampton Saints), George Furbank (Harlequins), Will Joseph (Gloucester Rugby), Joe Marchant (Sale Sharks), Cadan Murley (Harlequins), Harry Randall (Bristol Bears), Henry Slade (Exeter Chiefs), Fin Smith (Northampton Saints), Marcus Smith (Harlequins), Ben Spencer (Bath Rugby).