Slade ruled out of Calcutta Cup clash

By Mark Stevens
29/1/23

Exeter Chiefs star Henry Slade has been forced to withdraw from England squad as they prepare for their Six Nations opener against Scotland next Saturday (4:45pm).

The gifted centre has been ruled out with a hip injury sustained in the recent Heineken Champions Cup clash with Castres Olympique.

He will, however, remain in camp alongside club-mate Sam Simmonds, who has been included in Steve Borthwick’s training squad for the upcoming Calcutta Cup clash at Twickenham Stadium.

Jamie George has been named in the squad and will continue to work through his Graduated Return to Play protocols, while Anthony Watson has also been recalled following injury.

The England squad reconvened on Sunday evening at the Honda England Rugby Performance Centre at Pennyhill Park, Bagshot.

Borthwick said: “This is a very important week for us as we prepare for our first game against Scotland. We know that Scotland are an excellent side with a great coaching team led by Gregor Townsend. They’re a settled squad who have been together a long time and have dominated this fixture in recent seasons.

“They will be coming to Twickenham full of confidence. That said, we know we have a lot of work to do. The team trained very hard last week and are ready to go again this week. We can’t wait to return to Twickenham in front of our incredible supporters.”

ENGLAND SQUAD

FORWARDS

Ollie Chessum
Dan Cole
Ben Curry
Alex Dombrandt
Ben Earl
Ellis Genge
Jamie George
Joe Heyes
Jonny Hill
Nick Isiekwe
Maro Itoje
Lewis Ludlum
David Ribbans
Bevan Rodd
Sam Simmonds
Kyle Sinckler
Mako Vunipola
Jack Walker
Jack Willis

BACKS

Owen Farrell
Tommy Freeman
Ollie Hassell-Collins
Dan Kelly
Ollie Lawrence
Max Malins
Joe Marchant
Alex Mitchell
Cadan Marley
Fin Smith
Marcus Smith
Freddie Steward
Manu Tuilagi
Jack van Poortvliet
Anthony Watson
Ben Youngs

Kept in Camp: Courtney Lawes, Henry Slade