Steve Borthwick has called up Bath centre Max Ojomoh to England camp after Ollie Lawrence’s Six Nations ending setback. Ojomoh, son of former Bath and England flanker Steve, played in England A’s recent 28-12 win over Ireland A but is a long shot to be involved against Wales this weekend with Elliot Daly in pole position.
Lawrence was carted off after eight minutes of Sunday’s 47-24 win over Italy with an Achilles injury which could rule him out of the summer Lions tour to Australia. Daly shifted to the midfield from full-back, in England’s victory, when Lawrence went off and Henry Slade and Harlequins’ Oscar Beard are ahead of Ojomoh in the pecking order if boss Borthwick sticks with Daly at 15.
Saracens’ Daly burst onto the scene at Wasps as youngster playing at outside centre, before Eddie Jones shoved him into the back three, and has no problem slipping back into that slot for Cardiff.
He said: “I love playing 13. I just tried to nail my role there. There was some starter-play stuff that I was learning on the run to make sure I was in the right position, but it isn’t too different coming from full-back attacking wise.”
Back rowers Ben Earl and Tom Curry have both been included in a 35-man party that regrouped at England’s Bagshot base yesterday (MON) ahead of Saturday’s game.
Curry limped off after 56 minutes at the weekend but he and Earl, who came back on after being treated for a cut, have been passed fit to train.
England are aiming for a fourth win of the tournament which would represent their best Six Nations return since 2021 and have a slim chance of winning the title.
A bonus point win would guarantee them second place and they could claim the title if France slip up against Scotland later that evening.
Meanwhile, former referee Nigel Owens has clarified Wales star Taulupe Faletau’s contentious disallowed try against Scotland in the Six Nations over the weekend.
In the final moments of the match, Blair Murray carved through the Scottish defence with an impressive run, before setting up Faletau for what would have been a sensational try.
With Wales rallying for a comeback, this try, if successfully converted, would have given them a shot at turning the game on its head. However, referee Andrea Piardi, after consulting with TMO Eric Gauzins, decided to rule out the try, insisting that Murray’s leap over Will Hurd was an illegal act.
Wales fans were angered by the decision, questioning why jumping to cross the try-line is permitted, yet evading a tackle in the same manner is not.
“It’s different if you are jumping or diving to score a try as it’s deemed your actions are to score the try rather than jump to avoid a tackle,” explained Owens on social media, responding to a comparison with Tom Rogers’ eye-catching touchdown against Ireland – where Rogers leapt past James Lowe to score.
