Farrell, George ruled out of Springbok test

England’s hopes of avenging their 2019 Rugby World Cup loss against the Springboks at Twickenham this weekend took a massive blow after their captain Owen Farrell was ruled out with an ankle injury.

The side also lost hooker Jamie George, who limped off against Australia with a knee strain, as both have been ruled out of the weekend clash.

Gloucester’s Harry Elrington and Jack Singleton have been called up in their places.

While Ellis Genge looks unlikely to leave isolation in time for the game after testing positive for Covid, Joe Marler will complete his 10-day isolation on Thursday and rejoin the team at that time.

But the loss of particularly Farrell will be massive for England, especially given his history with the Springboks.

The last time the two teams clashed at Twickenham, England sneaked home after a contentious tackle by Farrell on Andre Esterhuizen, which easily would have been a red in today’s rugby climate, was deemed to be okay and incensed the Springboks.

Farrell’s celebration will be long remembered by the Boks, but they had a manner of revenge when Cheslin Kolbe flat-footed Farrell and left him on the floor as he stepped inside him to score the second try as the Springboks won the World Cup in 2019 in Yokohama.

By contrast, the Springboks confirmed they had no injuries after their win over Scotland on the weekend.

SQUAD

FORWARDS

Jamie Blamire (Newcastle Falcons, 4 caps), Callum Chick (Newcastle Falcons, 2 caps), Tom Curry (Sale Sharks, 35 caps), Trevor Davison (Newcastle Falcons, 2 caps), Nic Dolly (Leicester Tigers, uncapped), Alex Dombrandt (Harlequins, 3 caps), Harry Elrington (Gloucester Rugby, uncapped), Charlie Ewels (Bath Rugby, 25 caps), Jonny Hill (Exeter Chiefs, 11 caps), Maro Itoje (Saracens, 50 caps), Courtney Lawes (Northampton Saints, 89 caps), Lewis Ludlam (Northampton Saints, 10 caps), Joe Marler (Harlequins, 73 caps), George Martin (Leicester Tigers, 1 cap), Bevan Rodd (Sale Sharks, 1 cap), Sam Simmonds (Exeter Chiefs, 8 caps), Kyle Sinckler (Bristol Bears, 46 caps), Jack Singleton (Gloucester Rugby, 3 caps), Will Stuart (Bath Rugby, 14 caps), Sam Underhill (Bath Rugby, 26 caps).

BACKS

Mark Atkinson (Gloucester Rugby, 1 cap), Tommy Freeman (Northampton Saints, uncapped), George Furbank (Northampton Saints, 5 caps), Max Malins (Saracens, 9 caps), Joe Marchant (Harlequins, 6 caps), Jonny May (Gloucester Rugby, 68 caps), Alex Mitchell (Northampton Saints, 1 cap), Raffi Quirke (Sale Sharks, 1 cap), Adam Radwan (Newcastle Falcons, 2 caps), Henry Slade (Exeter Chiefs, 42 caps), Marcus Smith (Harlequins, 4 caps), Freddie Steward (Leicester Tigers, 4 caps), Manu Tuilagi (Sale Sharks, 45 caps), Ben Youngs (Leicester Tigers, 111 caps)