England have called up Raffi Quirke as scrum-half cover after Alex Mitchell was ruled out of Saturday’s Nations Championship finale against Argentina with a hamstring injury.
According to Ruck, Sale Sharks scrum-half Quirke has been drafted into Steve Borthwick’s squad for the trip to Estadio Unico Madre de Ciudades in Santiago del Estero, with Mitchell sidelined for the rest of the July tour. The British & Irish Lions scrum-half pulled up nine minutes after coming on for Jack van Poortvliet during England’s 73-8 demolition of Fiji, a setback confirmed by Sky Sports moments after Henry Pollock’s hat-trick sealed the rout at Hill Dickinson Stadium.
Steve Borthwick Gives Uncertain Update On Recurrence
Speaking after the match, head coach Borthwick admitted medical staff were yet to establish the severity of the issue. “I don’t know at this stage whether it’s a recurrence of the hamstring injury he’s had a couple of times already this season, nor can I confirm how long he’s going to be absent for, but it looks like he won’t be able to be part of next week,” Borthwick said.
Mitchell’s exit forced Marcus Smith to switch from full-back into the number nine role for the rest of the rout, with Borthwick praising the Harlequins playmaker for doing “a brilliant job stepping in at nine.”
Quirke, who scored a match-winning try off the bench against South Africa during his introduction to Test rugby in the 2021 autumn series, returns to a squad he was last called into in January 2025. The 24-year-old faces a fresh chapter at club level too, set to leave Sale for Newcastle Red Bulls at season’s end. With Van Poortvliet and Ben Spencer also in the frame, Borthwick has a fortnight to settle his scrum-half combination for Santiago del Estero on July 18.
