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Exclusive: Another combat sport training injury in the England camp
By Alex Shaw
It appears England have not learnt their lesson from the forced retirement of Sam Jones after he injured himself in a judo session with the team in 2016, with Nick Isiekwe the latest player to be injured whilst partaking in combat sports with the national team.
RugbyPass understands that the Saracens forward fractured his hand on Monday when the team was using wrestling as a means of preparing for the third and final Test with the Springboks this weekend.
As a result, the 20-year-old is unavailable for the Test at Newlands and a forgettable tour that saw the lock substituted in the first half of the Johannesburg Test and then sit out the fixture a week later in Bloemfontein, has been ended early.
The injury should heal in time for Isiekwe to return to pre-season training with Saracens five weeks after the conclusion of the series with South Africa, but the club have already arranged for him to have a scan on his return to the country, to ensure that the injury is healing itself and no further action is required.
The versatile forward enjoyed a breakout campaign in the Premiership and Champions Cup last season and will be keen to consolidate his place in the Saracens squad in 2018/19, as well as attempting to push on and nail down a regular spot in the England 23 ahead of the Rugby World Cup in Japan next year.
He is not the only England player not to make it through the entire tour, with Billy Vunipola and Ellis Genge both sent home early with injuries, as well as Brad Shields dropping out of the team for the final Test, albeit with illness, rather than a physical injury.
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Latest Comments
Wales were lucky the Boks should put 60 points past them
Go to commentsI'd rate the brothers Hendricks a point or two lower. Jaden has really not delivered on his early promise and Jordan's kicking at posts was quite erratic. Amongst other things.
I was really surprised that DuhDuh was replaced and not Jordan. DuhDuh had a great game and just underlined his class in a backline that was not firing on all cylinders.
Damian Willemse was missed. Hopefully he'll be back to full fitness and have an injury free 2025 (and '26 and '27 and so on until he decides to retire to spend time with his grandchildren).
RG was great. What an athlete.
Very happy that Hanekom made his debut at last. He gave a good account of himself and will hopefully grow into his role on the international stage.
All things considered, this was another frustrating Bok performance. Even though it was a comfortable win, it wasn't a commanding win. This Welsh team should've been put away by a far larger margin.
But I have faith in Dr Rassie. He knows more than I do. Bring on 2027 😁
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