England's Roebuck a doubt for Fiji game and Steward yet to train

4 hours ago 6

Quilter Nations Series: England v Fiji

Venue: Allianz Stadium, Twickenham Date: Saturday, 8 November Kick-off: 17:40 GMT

Coverage: Live on BBC Radio 5 Live Sports Extra and live text commentary on the BBC Sport website and app

Wing Tom Roebuck is a doubt for England's match with Fiji on Saturday after limping out of training on Tuesday with an ankle injury.

Roebuck played a key role in two of England's tries as they ran out 25-7 winners against the Wallabies last weekend.

Full-back Freddie Steward is also yet to train this week after picking up a hand injury in the closing stages of the win over the Wallabies.

Head coach Steve Borthwick will confirm his matchday squad on Thursday with England looking for their ninth win in a row.

If Steward is unavailable for selection, Marcus Smith is a contender to start at 15 after missing out on the squad last weekend.

Smith, namesake Fin, and cap centurion George Ford are the three fly-halves in the wider squad, and assistant coach Kevin Sinfield admits keeping all three happy is a challenge.

"You don't, you don't [keep them all happy]," Sinfield told BBC Sport.

"But that's how it should be. At this level there is always someone who is a bit disgruntled or who has a bit of frustration. They are all impatient because they all want the shirt now.

"But they are all good men who understand the value of the team. Of course it is going to take some managing but they understand at times they are going to get bad news, and they have to work through it like everyone else."

And Sinfield says Marcus Smith would be more than happy to fill in again at full-back, where he has regularly featured over the past two years.

"He would always say on record he is a 10, but he understands that - when you look across all sports - the best players don't always play in the position they play for their clubs," Sinfield said.

Meanwhile, Sinfield says it is only a matter of time before Henry Pollock makes his first start for his country.

Pollock has made a couple of startling cameos off the bench, scoring two tries against Wales in March and a game-breaking score against Australia.

"He's very confident and absolutely believes in his ability. He's a great guy around the group, he's different, but he brings energy and enthusiasm, and the guy can play," said Sinfield.

"To have all the things he has as a 20-year-old is pretty remarkable. He'll keep striving to get better and better and it won't be long before he gets a start I'm sure."

Read Entire Article