Now Mako joins little brother on injury list
DANNY CIPRIANI and a host of fellow World Cup wannabes were last night facing an anxious wait to discover whether they will be in the England squad for next month’s Tests that is named today.
Eddie Jones was understood to be keeping his cards close to his chest but one man who won’t be part of England’s eight-day camp in the Algarve is Lions prop Mako Vunipola, who has joined younger brother Billy in being ruled out of the autumn campaign.
A week of grim medical bulletins continued yesterday with confirmation from Saracens that their loosehead will be out for around six weeks after discovering he has a torn calf muscle, rather than merely a strain as was first thought.
Mako and Billy, who has a broken arm, were injured during Saracens’ spiteful Heineken Champions Cup win over Glasgow at Scotstoun on Sunday.
The selection crisis which was already apparent at No 8 has now taken hold at loosehead as well. No Mako and no Joe Marler — who abruptly retired from international rugby by earlier this month — equals no proven figure available to wear the No 1 shirt.
In the absence of so much experience, Exeter duo Alec Hepburn and Ben Moon are likely to be e included in the squad uad named by Jones this morning. Ellis Genge, Beno Obano and Matt Mullan are other loosehead casualties.
Jones’ decision in relation to Cipriani will be a subject of particular fascination, either way. The Gloucester fly-half started the season under a cloud after being arrested in Jersey during the summer and found guilty of common assault and resisting arrest. He made light of the situation by performing majestically for his new club in the opening weeks of the season, so much so that he was named Premiership Player of the Month for September.
But England’s head coach was not convinced. He left him out of a squad to train in Bristol last month and cited form, rather than any disciplinary stance. Yet, Jones has watched Cipriani and Gloucester five times in person this season. He remains firmly supportive of Owen Farrell and George Ford as his top two playmakers, so Cipriani’s status will depend in part on the size and balance of the squad this time.
Farrell may continue to operate at inside centre but Ben Te’o should be back in action this weekend for Worcester, so he is likely to be named this morning.
Manu Tuilagi is another familiar figure in midfield who will be back in the fold after so many injurywrecked years.
Further back, Chris Ashton is also destined to be selected despite not having made his competitive debut for Sale because of a ban for a dangerous tackle in pre-pseason. TherThere are endless areas of inintrigue but the backrow robackrow permutations are pperhaps the most ssignificant of all. JJones has lost Billy VVunipola, Chris RRobshaw and Sam SSimmonds to injury. NNathan Hughes was laslast night at a disciplinary narydisciplinary hearing, braced for a long ban, so Ben Morgan of Gloucester may come in from the cold.
Jones has not been convinced about a player who excelled under the Stuart Lancaster regime but hasn’t been involved since England crashed out of their own World Cup at the pool stage three years ago. In normal circumstances, the current head coach probably wouldn’t consider him, but these are certainly not normal circumstances.
It is more likely that, with so many looseheads missing, another Gloucester forward is summoned — Georgia-born prop Val RapavaRuskin. He is a powerful force in the scrum and Jones will demand a heavy focus on set-piece stability and control. Captain Dylan Hartley will lead that crusade at hooker in what is sure to be a new-look front row against South Africa on November 3.