Bruising for Bath
BATH director of rugby Todd Blackadder must have thought his club had given enough blood to the England cause in the past few years.
But they have suffered another setback with Charlie Ewels out of the season’s opener against Leicester on Sunday after a mishap at international training.
Ewels injured his heel at England’s recent get-together at Teddington and will be unable to build on the impression he made in Argentina with the Test team this summer.
Last season Anthony Watson broke his jaw and injured his hamstring at two different England training camps, and made only 11 club starts.
“Charlie did really well but England had their last camp and he got a bruise on his heel,” said Blackadder. “We haven’t had much luck coming out of England camps. It is just one of those niggly, really annoying things.”
Blackadder will also be missing flanker Sam Underhill, another player who impressed against the Pumas, after he rolled his ankle in training. At least that was with Bath.
He will have his three Lions available on Sunday. Watson and Taulupe Faletau played all three Tests in the drawn series but those two along with Jonathan Joseph, who had a quiet tour of New Zealand, are all on their blocks.
Blackadder said: “They are good to go – even though they didn’t play last week. It has been part of our planning all the way along for them to be selectable for this game.
“We have just been putting the right conditioning into their bodies.”
Faletau played in a preseason game against Leinster last Friday but Joseph and Watson are yet to see action. Elsewhere Blackadder is contending with a familiar litany of injuries.
Props Henry Thomas and Max Lahiff, lock Dave Attwood, wing Aled Brew and hooker Ross Batty join Underhill and Ewels on the casualty list.
“The amount of injuries we have is heartbreaking,” said Blackadder. “We’re prepared and we’re as good as we are going to be. Sunday will be the moment of truth.” THE SCOUT