Raffi Quirke replaces injured Alex Mitchell as England’s injury crisis continues

England‘s injury crisis continues as star scrum-half Alex Mitchell has been ruled out of the rest of the Six Nations with a hamstring injury.

Steve Borthwick was already without several first choice options in tighthead prop Will Stuart, winger Immanuel Feyi-Waboso and second row George Martin due to injuries sustained in the buildup to the tournament.

Mitchell, 28, has won 27 caps, scoring four times and has made the England nine jersey his own since the 2023 World Cup where he helped guide the Red Rose to a respectable third-place.

It’s a hammer blow to an England team whose confidence has been shattered due to back-to-back thrashings by Scotland and Ireland, the latter by a record score in that fixture last weekend, which put to bed all hopes of a first title in six years.

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Raffi Quirke drafted in

The Northampton Saints nine has been replaced by Sale Sharks player Raffi Quirke, whose last England appearance came in November 2022.

Quirke, 24, scored a try in a win over South Africa in his last international appearance but has failed to kick on since due to injury problems and subsequently lost his starting scrum-half place at Sale to Gus Warr.

However, the homegrown playmaker has enjoyed a return to form this season and scored two tries in his last three Prem appearances.

Quirke is set to join Newcastle Red Bulls at the end of the season, and joins Bath‘s Ben Spencer and Leicester Tigers‘ Jack van Poortvliet as England’s nine options for forthcoming fixtures against Italy and France.

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