England scrum-half Alex Mitchell is ruled out of the November Nations Championship opener against Australia after suffering a hamstring injury during Northampton’s 28-14 win over Gloucester on Saturday. The reports say Mitchell had to leave the game and will undergo a scan on Tuesday to determine the extent of the problem.
England’s head coach, Steve Borthwick, names replacements for the Australia match. Bristol scrum-half Harry Randall and Bath scrum-half Ben Spencer are called into the squad, with Mitchell described as the first-choice No 9 under Borthwick.
The outlets also place the incident within a wider context of England’s injury concerns ahead of the autumn programme, including subsequent fixtures referenced as coming after the Australia game. The Guardian adds detail about England’s “woes” and Northampton’s defensive performance in seeing off Gloucester, while Sky’s rugby and sports coverage emphasises the injury worry for England ahead of the opener.
