England are facing a potential midfield injury crisis ahead of their Six Nations match against Italy after centers Ollie Lawrence and Oscar Beard were withdrawn from the training squad.
Hooker Luke Cowan-Dickie also withdrew and the trio were replaced by Newcastle hooker Jamie Blamire alongside the Bath backline pair of Max Ojomoh and Will Muir.
The nature and extent of Lawrence’s injury has not been disclosed by England but he is considered a major doubt for the opening game against Italy on February 3.
The Bath center has been in excellent form this season and was the favorite to start at inside centre, partnering Henry Slade. But his withdrawal could force head coach Steve Borthwick to make his debut against Ojomoh or Northampton’s Fraser Dingwall in ’12.
The uncapped duo are the only players in the squad who regularly play at inside centre, although Exeter’s Slade has filled in there before. Regardless, this means Borthwick are facing another overhaul in their midfield.
Owen Farrell, Manu Tuilagi and Joe Marchant’s starting midfield from the World Cup semi-final against South Africa are all unavailable for the start of the Six Nations campaign. Tommy Freeman and Elliot Daly could also be at outside center.
Capless Beard suffered a concussion in Harlequins’ victory over Ulster, while Cowan-Dickie picked up a knock against La Rochelle on Sunday.
On Monday, Borthwick was still gathering fitness updates at the Six Nations launch in Dublin and expressed frustration with the flood of information coming from Premiership clubs. “We’re still collecting all of that information right now,” Borthwick said. “One of the challenges of the Last Six Nations was that the reporting systems between club and country were not what they needed to be and next year they were not what they needed to be, but nothing has changed from last year to this year.
“We will be in a better position next year when we improve EPS. “We’re currently dealing with information that we’re not aware of as quickly as possible, which is disappointing but we’ll just have to keep doing it as best we can.”
“I don’t want to exaggerate this. But last night we are in the same situation where we learned some things for the first time. This is not how it should be.”
“Going forward we will do a new deal and we aim to have all the information about players’ training volumes and loads, the same systems that they have with medical information and all that. It needs to be much more harmonious.
“I think what happened here is that everyone inherited a system that was not fully adapted. “What we aim to do from next year is to ensure full harmony so that the club game can develop and the national team can develop.”
England’s overworked players a growing concern
Borthwick admits he will struggle to bridge the fitness gap heading into the Six Nations as Telegraph Sport could reveal a huge difference in game time compared to other countries.
Borthwick bemoaned England’s fitness levels during his first season in charge a year ago; This view was later confirmed by a Rugby Football Union review of the third consecutive two-win tournament.
England touch down in Girona on Tuesday for a warm-weather training camp but will only have five full training sessions ahead of their opening match against Italy in Rome on February 3, with Borthwick aiming to make an explosive start.
The intensity of the matches England players have faced since the World Cup quarter-finals will make this situation even more difficult. Statistics published by Opta show England’s 36-man squad played an average of 712 minutes per player. The next highest is France’s 589 minutes per player. Compared to the centrally managed Ireland team, the England team played three more games per man.
“If you look at the number of minutes played by English players, it’s clear that hasn’t changed,” Borthwick said. “If you look at how much the English players have played against others since the quarter-final weekend, the French players have played a lot. The first thing I would say is that the players were tough on the match. So this is a big benefit. In general, I will try to look on the positive side and I have a group of players who are resilient for the match. They’re ready to go.”
Looking at individual minutes played since the quarter-finals, England players make up seven of the top 10 players; Harlequins No. 1, led by Exeter center Henry Slade. There are players who made the most important tackles (628) ahead of Alex Dombrandt in 8th, with 1,109 minutes. , carries and backs hit. Both played in all 14 of their clubs’ matches without a break. Telegraph Sport understands there are several high-profile players who are at “breaking point” with no cuts to the new season structure before the Premiership pauses for seven weeks following this weekend’s matches.
Even second-string Maro Itoje, who was briefly rested by Saracens after the World Cup, has played in 12 games and is third in major appearances (510), meaning Borthwick will have to reduce his training schedule at Girona. “You look at someone like Maro, he’s playing really well, he’s played a lot of games and he’s not playing under 80 minutes every time he’s on the pitch,” Borthwick said. “If you compare it to a different one in Ireland, it’s fine.
“I’m clear on that because I need to know where the players are and how hard I can push. As a coach I’m demanding because I want the team to be the best and we push but I need to be aware of where my players are coming from and whether my players are playing 80 minutes week in, week out, week in week out.” It turns into a different training camp than the one we walked into.”
Data passed to Borthwick shows an increase in the running volume of Premiership players, but he points out this is just one element of the fitness he requires from his squad in the Six Nations. “I’m also aware that the Six Nations is a real contest, a disintegration contest game,” Borthwick said. “So what you need to do is make sure that it works correctly and that there is a level of repeatability around the contact area. So I definitely think there is progress moving forward.”