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Steve Borthwick has been urged to consider resting British & Irish Lions players during England’s autumn internationals campaign on welfare grounds by Prem Rugby head coaches.
Players who appeared on the Lions tour in Australia over the summer were mandated 10 weeks off, ensuring they will miss the first two rounds of the new season and be available for three before England begin their November campaign against the Wallabies.
Tom Curry has undergone pre-planned wrist surgery, after starring for the Lions with a torn ligament, and is unlikely to feature for Sale before England in the autumn while players such as Tommy Freeman (34), Maro Itoje and Ben Earl (both 33), who exceeded the 30-match limit last season, are expected to be managed through the campaign.
In 2021 nine of England’s 10 Test Lions suffered significant injuries the following season after returning ahead of schedule for their clubs. Eight years ago, Itoje and Owen Farrell were forced to sit out one of England’s autumn fixtures after the 2017 Lions tour due to their “exceptional workloads” with Eddie Jones revealing the pair, who missed out on their £25,000 match fees, were furious.
The club-country agreement signed last year guarantees Test players an international salary of £160,000, however, and Prem clubs believe the cost of meeting welfare demands could be shared between them and England, who also face Fiji, New Zealand and Argentina this autumn.
Clubs can apply for Lions players to be given special dispensation to be available for the start of the season this month. Owen Farrell has been cleared to make his second Saracens debut against Newcastle Red Bulls with his late call-up to the Lions tour coming after a lengthy injury-enforced break but in general directors of rugby are abiding by the agreement and want England to share the load.
Asked if Freeman, Henry Pollock, Fin Smith and Alex Mitchell could be rested, the Northampton director of rugby, Phil Dowson, said: “I’ve mooted that. Steve as you know is non-committal when it comes to that stuff. Nearer the time he might be. He’s not going to make any promises now, and I don’t expect him to. I’ve said my piece, and what I think needs to happen, and everyone at the RFU, [performance director] Phil Morrow and everyone understands that.”
The Saracens director of rugby, Mark McCall, has given Itoje, Jamie George and Ben Earl an extra week off but Farrell is primed to begin the season with his boyhood club.
“Owen is different and he’ll be available for week one,” said McCall, who revealed Elliot Daly is on course to be back from his broken arm in October. “We haven’t actually spoken about which week [the others] will come back.” Asked if they could be rested by Borthwick, McCall added: “It depends what the Tests are. If there is an ‘easier’ one then those are things that we could have some common sense around, so that it’s fair-ish. But I think if you ask a player then he’ll want to play in international games and we’ll always support that.”
Curry is in a race against time to be available for England’s autumn campaign after surgery. “His return to play sits him somewhere around the autumn internationals so you’re more likely in an England shirt than in a Sale shirt,” said Sale’s director of rugby, Alex Sanderson. “But you never know, he has a habit of defying comeback dates and what surgeons say.”
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Scotland’s fly-half Finn Russell appeared 37 times for Bath last season and like Harlequins’ Marcus Smith, is still on holiday. “Player welfare is exceptionally important but you’ve got to look after each player individually,” said Bath’s head coach, Johann van Graan. “The onus is on club and country. We’re going to look after Finn incredibly well, as we have done over the last two years. Our relationship is extremely good.”
Curry, meanwhile, has insisted he is “very happy” at Sale despite continued speculation over the R360 breakaway league starting next September.
“It sounds like there’s a lot of external noise,” he said. “I’ve not heard anything. It’s everywhere but within the players, if that makes sense. So I don’t know. I’m very happy at Sale. I just think at the club we’re doing a great job. We’re in a very fortunate position where we are in Manchester. Nothing would get me away from that.”
