Paolo may be freed by England for return to Ricoh
PAOLO Odogwu could be released from the England squad to play for Wasps against Gloucester at the Ricoh Arena this weekend.
The 24-year-old earned his first senior call-up following his electric start to the season, scoring six tries including two in his last outing against Bath in January.
But the winger/centre has not featured in any of England’s three Guinness Six Nations squads so far and has gone more than 50 days since last playing a match. England Rugby announced that some players who have not featured prominently in the tournament could be released to their clubs.
Odogwu is the only member of the original 28-man squad who has yet to play for England during the competition.
The statement said: “Some of the squad members who have received less playing time during the tournament will be given the opportunity to play for their clubs in their respective fixtures this weekend.
“This will be an individual decision for each player from a performance perspective and is in line with tournament regulations and Covid-19 protocols.”
Wasps head coach Lee Blackett admitted he had some concerns regarding Odogwu’s lack of game time earlier this week.
Meanwhile, uncapped
Northampton lock David Ribbans has been called into England’s Six Nations squad to bolster second-row resources ahead of their remaining games against France and Ireland.
Ribbans has received the call from head coach Eddie Jones after his Saints colleague Courtney Lawes was sidelined for up to 12 weeks by a pectoral injury picked up at an England training session last week.
Northampton said Lawes was due to undergo surgery.
INDIA captain Virat Kohli has reacted angrily to ongoing debates around the pitch in Ahmedabad, blaming England’s two-day defeat in the third Test solely on “a bizarre display of batting”.
Kohli has overseen two successive thumping victories on big-spinning surfaces since England took the series opener in gentler conditions in Chennai, concluding in a two-day finish last week. There has been no shortage of critique around the pitches, though much of the argument has settled along partisan lines, with most of the disapproval coming from outside India and the case for the defence coming from within the home camp.
The matter may not be settled until the official pitch ratings are published but, on the eve of the fourth and final Test, Kohli positioned it as a concoction of pundits and reporters.
His feistiness on the issue has done little to alter expectations that the ball will spin hard and early once more at the Narendra Modi Stadium as his side look to confirm a spot in the World Test Championship final.
“There’s always too much noise and conversation around spinning tracks. If you win a Test on day four or five, no-one says anything but if you win in two days everyone pounces on the same issue,” he said.
“It was a bizarre display of batting by both teams.”