Fin Smith's Chance of Facing Australia Looks Promising
England's No 10 Fin Smith trained with the squad for the first time, and assistant coach Richard Wigglesworth said the player could be ready for Sunday's match. No 9 Alex Mitchell, meanwhile, will miss the autumn internationals due to his fourth hamstring injury of the year.
England received encouraging news ahead of their Sunday match against Australia in the Nations Championship. Fin Smith, who injured his calf in Northampton's Premiership defeat to Leicester on 24 October, trained with his international teammates together for the first time since then.
Assistant coach Richard Wigglesworth told Sky Sports News that Smith had completed the training session. Wigglesworth said they were "quite optimistic" that the player could be ready for selection. Stressing that the selection had not yet been finalised but that there was a chance, he said Smith, who started at No 10 in recent Tests, is a quality player. Reminding that George Ford and Marcus Smith are also in the squad, Wigglesworth noted that the players have different styles of play and that the best option would be decided over time.
On the other hand, Alex Mitchell suffering his fourth hamstring injury of the year was a bad development for the team. Wigglesworth confirmed that Mitchell will miss the autumn internationals, said he viewed the situation with disappointment, and stressed that it must be looked into. England will face Japan on 14 November and New Zealand on 21 November at Twickenham, after the Australia match. The final weekend of the Nations Championship will be played on 27-29 November.
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