Quirke called up to replace injury-plagued Mitchell for England's Argentina finale

Raffi Quirke has been called into the England squad as injury cover for Alex Mitchell ahead of Saturday’s Nations Championship round three fixture against Argentina at Estadio Único Madre de Ciudades in Santiago del Estero.

Mitchell limped off just nine minutes after coming on as a substitute during England’s 73-8 victory over Fiji at the Hill Dickinson Stadium, having sustained a hamstring injury. It is the third hamstring problem the British and Irish Lions scrum-half has suffered this season, following an earlier setback that caused him to miss the entire Six Nations.

Head coach Steve Borthwick confirmed after the Fiji win that Mitchell is unlikely to be available for the tour finale. “I don’t know at this stage whether it’s a recurrence of the hamstring injury he’s had a couple of times already this season, nor can I confirm the length at this early stage of how long he’s going to be absent for, but it looks like he won’t be able to be part of next week,” Borthwick said.

Mitchell’s departure left England temporarily without a specialist scrum-half after Jack van Poortvliet had already left the field. Marcus Smith shifted from full-back to cover the position and impressed as England crossed for 11 tries against a Fiji side reduced to 14 men before half-time.

Quirke, 24, arrives in Argentina with two England caps to his name and a compelling international backstory. He made his debut in 2021 as England’s youngest scrum-half in more than 90 years, then announced himself on the Test stage a week later by scoring the winning try against reigning world champions South Africa at Twickenham.

The Broughton-born half-back recently completed a move to Newcastle Red Bulls from Sale Sharks and will now look to revive an international career that has been disrupted by injuries of his own. Saturday’s match represents a significant opportunity to press his case for a more regular role in Borthwick’s plans.