Jamie George handed instant reprieve as England suffer double injury blow

Jamie George was last night rushed back into the England squad after Eddie Jones was hit with a double injury hammer blow.

Twenty-four hours after axing the Saracens hooker confirmation reached Jones that Luke Cowan-Dickie suffered ankle ligament damage playing on Saturday.

England's bulletin worsened as Bath wing Anthony Watson was then ruled out with a ruptured anterior cruciate knee ligament.

Watson will miss both autumn and Six Nations campaigns and has been replaced by Harlequins star Joe Marchant.

Bath boss Stuart Hooper admitted: "We are all feeling Anthony's disappointment right now."

Maro Itoje was forced from the field with a shoulder injury in the same game, but Saracens say the damage is minor and it "should not" impact on England.

George scored two tries in Sarries' rout of Bath and played with a controlled fury which convinced coach Mark McCall that he would be recalled.

That it took a day longer than expected shocked many, but it allowed Jones to get out his message that he expects much more from players, such as George, in their third World Cup cycle.

“They need to regenerate and rejuvenate," he said. “They need to add things to their game if they’re going to continue to the next World Cup.”

George, 30, will join the squad for a five-day training camp in Jersey next week prior to November Tests against Tonga, Australia and South Africa.

But he faces stiff competition for the starting spot from Jamie Blamire, who won his first two caps in the summer and responded with four tries.

Dean Richards, his boss at Newcastle, said: “Jamie is relatively new to hooker and is still learning the set-piece.

“But I can’t see a hooker in English rugby who is as good as him around the park and who has as big an impact. His impact off the bench has been absolutely massive for us.”

Watson’s absence opens the door to Adam Radwan who, like clubmate Blamire, delighted Jones by scoring a hat-trick on his first England start against Canada.

“I saw a kid who came into England camp who basically had fallen into rugby, been knocked back, fought his way back into the Newcastle team, got some opportunities to score tries, and now is really focused,” said the Australian.

“There's a strong level of desire about how Adam wants to keep improving as a player. If he keeps that going, you don't know where he could finish up. He could end up the best winger in the world.”

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