England 'hamstrung' ahead of second Test
INJURY UPDATE: England coach Eddie Jones sent an SOS for a replacement hooker, ahead of the second Test against South Africa in Bloemfontein on Saturday.
Worcester Warriors’ Jack Singleton will join Jones’ squad in South Africa – as cover for Exeter Chiefs’ Luke Cowan-Dickie.
Singleton was called up as a precaution, after Cowan-Dickie experienced hamstring tightness – following England’s 39-42 loss to the Springboks at Ellis Park last Saturday.
The 22-year-old came through the academy at the Warriors and is a former England Under-20 international, who featured in the recent non-Test game against the Barbarians at Twickenham.
Welcome to South Africa Jack 🇿🇦@WorcsWarriors hooker @JackSingleton14 called up to England squad as cover for @1_Dickie 🌹
➡ https://t.co/b2ADDlF5LZ pic.twitter.com/FCUbk0vkWT
— England Rugby (@EnglandRugby) June 11, 2018
* Meanwhile fellow England hooker Jamie George says there is plenty to take from their opening game against South Africa, going into the second Test in Bloemfontein.
With England scoring five tries in total and running the Boks close at the end of the game, George believes there are small margins that could make the difference next time out.
“The frustration, for me, of not getting it quite right means that I just want to rip into it this week and if it was up to me we would be playing again tomorrow.
“We just want to put things right.
“We were nearly very, very good, so hopefully we can string a few things together and get that 80-minute performance next week.”
Jones has urged his team to improve their discipline ahead of their next meeting, and George says it is something the players are aware of.
“Honesty is a big part of it and players need to take responsibility at the same time,” he added.
“There were a lot of individual errors that led to the ill-discipline, so first up we’ve got to be honest with ourselves, brutally honest at times, and hopefully that will lead to coaches not having to say too much.”
