Ford out of England squad but Bristol reinforcements called in

George Ford has been ruled out of the England Quilter Cup clash against the Barbarians this weekend, but Eddie Jones has bolstered his squad with a trio of Bristol players.

Fly-half Ford was named in the initial 32-man England squad on Tuesday, but has now withdrawn with what the Rugby Football Union called a “pre-existing achilles issue”. No timescale has yet been put on his recovery.

Jones has been able to add to his group, though, calling up Kyle Sinckler, Ben Earl and, for the first time, Max Malins.

Malins offers cover and a new option at No10, Earl brings further depth to the pool of flankers and World Cup finalist Sinckler adds plenty of experience to the front row department.

The trio had originally been left out due to uncertainty over Bristol’s potential role in the Gallagher Premiership final.

The Bears had been on standby to take the place of Wasps against Exeter in the showpiece following an outbreak of coronavirus in the Wasps camp, but they have now been cleared to take part.

Following their clash with the Baa-Baas on Sunday at Twickenham, England will move on to Rome for the delayed conclusion of their Guinness Six Nations campaign against Italy. They will then meet Georgia, Ireland and Wales in the Autumn Nations Cup.

It was Tuesday when Elliot Daly’s fitness emerged as the main injury concern for England. Also missing was Joe Marler, whose knee problem will take at least another two weeks to heal.

“Elliot has had a bump on his leg for a good period of time. It hasn’t really worried him and he’s been able to train,” said Eddie Jones.

“We’re not sure what’s wrong so we’re going to get some tests done and we’ll wait and see what the answer is. I’d rather not say which part of his leg it is, let’s just wait and see. We’ll do all the various tests and he’ll see a consultant and then we’ll have a pretty good idea of where he’s at.”