May’s fly in ointment for Eddie

ENGLAND have lost one of their hottest properties for their opening Test of the autumn against Argentina after in-form Jonny May pulled a hamstring in Portugal.

May, who has scored 10 tries in nine games since joining Leicester from Gloucester in the summer, joined a list of stricken wings that already includes absent Lions Elliot Daly and Jack Nowell after sustaining the injury in training on Tuesday.

England are instead likely to turn to Denny Solomona at Twickenham, although neither the Sale wing, who has a sore Achilles, nor Bath’s Semesa Rokoduguni, who has a dead leg, have been able to train yet at a warm-weather camp which resembles a field hospital.

Fourteen of the 33-man squad were unable to take part in contact training yesterday including Joe Launchbury, who has a sore knee, and young Harlequins stand-off Marcus Smith, 18, who is flying home early because of a sprained foot sustained kicking the ground instead of the ball in practice.

Coach Eddie Jones said last week he wanted chaos in the squad to help develop it further. He has his wish.

Assistant coach Steve Borthwick said: “We TOP FORM: But May has been injured were going to have an intense session today but the plan changed. A few players came into camp with a few bumps and bruises and then we’ve had a couple of bumps in training. “It means that realistically we will have a four-day preparation for Argentina next week, which is a great challenge. It’s the kind of thing that could come our way in the future. “We ask our players to be adaptable every day and we, as coaches, need to be adaptable. “Jonny has been in great form so he will be a miss without question but he will be back fit soon.” England had intended to rest Anthony Watson after his Lions exertions but may have to revise their plans.

Jones will decide today whether to call up an extra body. Ordinarily Marland Yarde would be the next cab on the rank but he has plenty on his plate with the ignominious nature of his exit from Harlequins.

Yarde’s move to Sale was confirmed yesterday after the patience of Quins director of rugby John Kingston was exhausted following a sequence of missed training sessions.

Yarde’s conduct even prompted the diplomatic Chris Robshaw to open fire yesterday.

“I am disappointed in him, actually,” said Robshaw. “Marland has unfortunately run out of lives

SCARLETS centre Scott Williams has been called into Wales’s squad as a replacement for the injured Tyler Morgan.