England picked up from a dismal start to the fall with hooker Jamie George’s unexpected return to fitness.
George was expected to miss the entire Autumn Nations Cup campaign after breaking two metatarsals on club duty for Saracens against Leicester on 1 October.
However, the Lions’ front row has been included in a 36-man training squad for Saturday’s visit to Japan in Twickenham, with England confirming he is available for selection.
George showing enough fitness to support starting hooker Luke Cowan-Dickie as Eddie Jones’ team recovers from a shock 30-29 loss to Argentina on Sunday. There is expected.
Backthree reinforcements have also arrived, with Tommy Freeman returning from Northampton’s leg injury against Exeter on Friday and Johnny May available after recovering from an elbow problem.
Freeman and May put pressure on starting wings Joe Kokanashiga and Jack Nowell, with the current back line showing a noticeable lack of pace.
Nowell, who had a good run against Argentina, argued that a simple fix should bring the fall back to life, arguing that England were the architects of the flat series opener.
It was the first loss in 13 years for the Pumas, who have racked up 10 straight wins in the fixtures, and in the process, their fifth loss in nine Tests this year, with tougher duties against New Zealand and South Africa still to come. I haven’t come.
The penalty count ended 10-10 and Nowell said: We know exactly what needs fixing.
It’s very difficult to play a rugby match when you’re giving out that many penalties. They were kicking into the corners, scoring three points and chipping you. This is test rugby and you have to win several matches. But when we make it difficult for ourselves, we only blame ourselves.
“It’s not that we don’t know what to do outside, we know exactly what to do. We just don’t do it.
“It wasn’t like we were staring at each other in the locker room after the game and thinking, ‘How did we lose?’
“There is confidence within the team. We are together and we are solid.”
Breaking through the clouds over Twickenham was Manu Tuiragi’s long-awaited return to outside center after a year with hamstring and knee injuries.
The hard-running 31-year-old made several dents in the Argentine defense before limping due to blisters. Nowell was delighted to be on the pitch with his longtime friend.
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“It’s really good to have Manu back. He’s been an incredible player and has worked hard to get back,” said his own international critic, who has struggled with repeated visits to the treatment room. talked about his career.
“When you have a player like that in you, he sucks players in, he pulls players in, but he’s also very good defensively.
“For years we were like ships at night and we couldn’t go out on the field together, so we didn’t want to jinx it, so we didn’t say anything to each other. Afterwards, we enjoyed cuddling!
“He just got blisters and it’s not that bad. Physios are good at taking care of that stuff so he’s fine. He’s been getting worse!”
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