MITCHELL MAKES A MIRACLE RECOVERY
No 9 to start against Italy ... but Marcus Smith could miss whole Six Nations
STEVE B Borthwick th i was boosted yesterday by Alex Mitchell’s remarkable recovery in time to start against Italy tomorrow, but the England head coach admitted that Marcus Smith faces an extended absence.
Shortly after naming Northampton scrum-half Mitchell in the No 9 shirt — despite his disrupted week caused by an infected leg wound — Borthwick addressed the setback which left Smith on crutches in Girona on Monday. The Harlequins fly-half flew home last night to have more tests on his calf injury, amid fears that he could miss the entire Six Nations campaign.
‘He’ll go back to England today and have further investigations later this week,’ he said. ‘He won’t be available next week.
‘We’re not sure exactly when but we expect it to be a number of weeks. Hopefully, he will play in the latter part of the Six Nations but it will be a number of weeks. We’ll know more next week.’
As expected, in the absence of Marcus Smith, George ford was named at 10 for the opener against the Azzurri and fin Smith of Northampton was included among the replacements. As was not at all expected, Mitchell was cleared to retain the place in the starting XV which he made his own during the World Cup.
The outlook appeared bleak for the in-form Saint, but he was given time to prove his readiness to play and he was able to do just that. ‘Alex did individual training yesterday,’ said Borthwick. ‘The team didn’t train — he did — and he has trained fully with the team today (Thursday).
‘He came in with a stud wound and trained at the end of last week but started feeling unwell, then realised there had been an infection. Our medical team took great care of him over the weekend and at the start of the week to get the infection under control and he looks brilliant. He’s a player who played a lot of minutes during the World Cup and he has played a lot of time for his club, so I see a guy who is match sharp and ready to go. Today he looked fantastic.’
There are several newcomers in the matchday 23 — more than the man in charge had imagined there would be, before a series of medical mishaps forced his hand. ‘I didn’t think I’d be naming a 23 with five debutants in it,’ said Borthwick. ‘ I’ve asked when
England last named a 23 with five new caps within it — there are people looking, we haven’t got that information yet!’
Among the uncapped contingent is Exeter’s back- row discovery of the season so far, New Zealand-born flanker Ethan Roots. Borthwick has already warmly praised the flanker’s hard- edged quality and yesterday, when asked about his allegiance, he said: ‘I spoke with him and he is a guy who is desperate to play for England.
‘This is a guy who was working on a building site six years ago. This is a guy who joined the Crusaders, joined the Ospreys, moved on from there and joined Exeter.
‘This is a determined man. I’ve been really impressed by his physicality, his energy, his workrate, but also by his maturity.’
Another Chief who has been promoted is Wales-born wing sensation, Immanuel feyiWaboso. Borthwick heralded the medical student’s physical attributes and also his academic dedication.
‘He’s got incredible ability,’ he said. ‘Now we know a little bit more about him, having been in camp the last week or so, his speed and power profiles are excellent. Really top- class. He has that innate natural ability that we want to harness in the way we play; bring his speed and power into the game.
‘I have been impressed by him on the pitch and I have been impressed by him studying in the corner of the team room as well.
‘His balance of preparing himself as a rugby player, doing the team preparations and doing his studies is seriously impressive. On the other table, you have Alex Coles studying law. On one table there’s someone studying law and the other medicine.’
Northampton centre fraser Dingwall is the other debutant in the England XV, and there should also be a first cap tomorrow for his club-mate Smith, as well as Harlequins back-rower Chandler Cunningham-South.