Slade's injury leaves England with rookie centres
Henry Slade is out of the tour of Argentina and the United States with a hand injury, leaving England with inexperienced midfield options as they attempt to seal a series win over the Pumas.Slade played the full 80 minutes in the 35-12 first-Test win over Argentina in La Plata on Saturday but will miss the rematch in San Juan this weekend.Seb Atkinson made his first Test appearance in La Plata while Max Ojomoh, Luke Northmore and Oscar Beard – the other specialist centres in the 36-player squad – are still uncapped.Fraser Dingwall and Ollie Lawrence, who emerged as England's first-choice midfield during the Six Nations, are both injured while the versatile Elliot Daly has returned from the British and Irish Lions tour of Australia with a fractured arm.Slade, who won his 73rd England cap against Argentina, was also a back-up option at fly-half, with uncapped Charlie Atkinson the only direct cover for the experienced George Ford.Co-captains Ford and Jamie George and flanker Sam Underhill - with 102, 100 and 41 caps respectively - are now the only players with more than 40 caps in the squad.England, whose tour will conclude with a one-off Test against the United States on 19 July, have no plans to summon a replacement for Slade.Steve Borthwick's side produced one of their best performances of the head coach's reign in La Plata, surviving the sin-binning of Alex Coles and Seb Atkinson to lead 3-0 at half-time, before accelerating away to victory via four second-half tries.The win takes England above their opponents to fifth in the world ranking.The Pumas, who rested some of their France-based players for the first Test, have brought in Bordeaux-Begles second row Guido Petti for the second game.The 30-year-old, who scored a try in their Top 14 final loss against Toulouse on 28 June, will join up with Harlequins next season.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
BBC News
27 minutes ago
- BBC News
Struggling Castleford sack head coach McGuire
Castleford Tigers have sacked head coach Danny McGuire after less than nine months in charge. More to follow.
BBC News
27 minutes ago
- BBC News
Forshaw and Allen take on coaching roles at Tigers
Leicester Tigers have appointed Wales defence coach Mike Forshaw as Geoff Parling's assistant coach alongside the returning Anthony 55, leaves his role in international rugby after two-and-a-half years to move back to the Premiership where he spent a decade as a coach at Sale former Great Britain rugby league international, who enjoyed a decorated career with Wigan Warriors, Wakefield Trinity, Leeds Rhinos, Bradford Bulls and Warrington Wolves, has worked in rugby union for 15 years."I think the DNA of the club, around working hard for one another and being physical, really suits me," Forshaw told Leicester's website., external"It is an exciting time for the club, with Geoff taking over, and it is great to be able to be a part of that." As well as adding Forshaw to his coaching team, Parling has turned to former team-mate Allen as the rookie boss prepares to take the helm of the centre Allen, 38, won two Premiership titles with Leicester and earned two England caps before he was forced to retire in 2015 because of a knee took up a role with the club's academy, then went on to work as a Tigers under-18 head coach before stepping up to the senior coaching left for a job in the Championship with Coventry in 2019."It has been good for me to have been away, experience new environments and challenges at different organisations and be able to come back with those valuable lessons to add to the coaching room," Allen and Forshaw are the first two coaching additions made by Parling, who will continue to work with Brett Deacon, Neil Fowkes, and Peter Hewat, who all worked under former head coach Michael Cheika.
Telegraph
37 minutes ago
- Telegraph
Andre Onana expected to stay at Man Utd as £30m price tag puts off suitors
Andre Onana seems increasingly likely to stay at Manchester United this summer, with potential suitors so far discouraged by the club's £30 million asking price. Monaco enquired about signing Onana late last month but the Ligue 1 side are understood to have baulked at United's valuation. Although Monaco are not thought to have ended their interest in Onana, they have yet to show a willingness to pay that much for the Cameroon No 1. Onana, 29, has also been the subject of tentative interest from Saudi Pro League clubs but that has yet to formalise and one of his suitors SC Neom have instead opted to sign Poland goalkeeper Marcin Bulka from Nice. United have been linked with a number of goalkeepers this summer, including Aston Villa's Emiliano Martinez, but manager Ruben Amorim has more pressing priorities in the transfer window. Onana is keen to stay at Old Trafford and, as things stand, seems set to remain as the club's No 1, even if United will continue to listen to offers and the situation remains fluid, as it does with many players in the squad. Amorim is thought to be relaxed about that situation even though he would like increased competition for Onana, who made a number of errors last season. He cost United £47.2million from Inter Milan in 2023. United's immediate focus is on finalising a deal for Brentford forward Bryan Mbeumo and are hoping for a breakthrough this week, after which Amorim is also targeting a striker and central midfielder. Amorim could also be in the market for a centre-back with Victor Lindelof released, Jonny Evans having retired and Lisandro Martinez and Luke Shaw both injury prone. Summer signings Matheus Cunha and Diego Leon were among the players to report to Carrington on Monday as United returned for the start of pre-season training. Marcus Rashford, Alejandro Garnacho, Jadon Sancho, Antony and Tyrell Malacia were not present having been told to stay away from the training ground by Amorim as they explore potential moves away this summer. Rashford, who worked with personal trainers during a three-week holiday in Marbella, is now stepping up his pre-season work in Manchester. Antony is doing similar in Sao Paulo. Rashford's No 10 shirt has been given to Cunha, a £62.5m signing from Wolves. The England striker has changed his profile picture on Twitter and Instagram in recent days to show him lifting weights and working hard to stay fit. Barcelona have shown an interest in the player but favour a loan move. Bayern Munich have also been linked. Another player facing an uncertain future at Old Trafford is Rasmus Hojlund but the Denmark striker is thought to be keen to stay at the club and fight for his place. Inter Milan enquired about Hojlund last month but there are no guarantees the Italian club will formally move for the £40 million-rated Dane. United need to sell or reduce the wage bill by offloading high earners on loan to raise funds to reinvest in the squad. Amorim's side face their first friendly against Leeds in Stockholm on July 19 before flying to the US for the start of their pre-season tour three days later. United are due to take part in the Premier League Summer Series with West Ham, Bournemouth and Everton.
