Earl is sure England won’t go stir crazy in their bubble
ENGLAND’S LONG autumn has just begun but Ben Earl is confident they will avoid suffering cabin fever in their bubble environment over the coming weeks.
Eddie Jones’ squad gathered in their entirety for the first time this week, bolstered by reinforcements from Gallagher Premiership finalists Exeter and Wasps to enable preparations for Saturday’s Six Nations finale against Italy to begin in earnest. The players are based at a hotel in Teddington and not permitted to leave the bubble except for pre- planned authorised training breaks or medical reasons, but they have access to a state of the art games room.
The trip to Rome will be followed by a break week before the four- Test Autumn Nations Cup begins.
“We have a few social secs who will try to put on some stuff, “said
Earl, the Saracens flanker who is on loan at Bristol.
“The hotel has been brilliant and there’s not really any cabin fever flying around, we’ve only been here for a couple of weeks so I guess watch this space. As long as we can be sensible with it that’s the key.
“By and large everyone’s really enjoying it. We’re getting a bit more time to spend together as a squad.
“It’s kind of forced upon you because you can’t just sit on your own in your room the whole time. It’s been really good in that regard and we’ve got an amazing set- up.
“We’re just trying to enjoy each other’s company as much as we can, obviously with that there has to be a sense of responsibility and some maturity.
“I don’t think anyone’s ever washed their hands as much as they have this week, but we’re very much aware of what’s expected of us.
“Everyone’s pulling in the same direction and we can only try our best and hopefully we get our full complement of games out over the coming months.”
England’s autumn opener against the Barbarians on Sunday was cancelled when a number of the invitational club’s players broke coronavirus protocols by going out on successive nights.
It emerged yesterday that former captain Chris Robshaw and those who broke coronavirus protocols last week will not face a police investigation.
Footage emerged on social media over the weekend showing a group from the invitational club engaging in a drinking session at the Running Horse pub in Mayfair.
However, the Metropolitan Police have declined to look into the players’ misconduct, which England’s World Cup- winning coach Sir Clive Woodward described as “ridiculously stupid”.