May waiting on specialists’ results
England and Gloucester wing Jonny May could miss the entire Six Nations campaign as he waits to hear back from specialists on the severity of his knee injury.
May, who didn’t play on the weekend against Perpignan due to the injury, has definitely been ruled out of England’s first two tournament fixtures and could well miss all five matches.
“If he can be back involved in the Six Nations then great. It's unfortunate for Jonny because we'd like to see him playing for England,” said Gloucester head coach George Skivington.
"He's had a niggle for a little while and it kept him out of one game a few weeks ago. It's just been chipping away and it got to a point where it wasn't great, so we decided to get it investigated.”
Marler the latest to leave camp
England’s training camp issues n Brighton continue with prop Joe Marler leaving the squad after testing positive for Covid-19.
Marler is isolating after a second positive test in the last two months and is now a major doubt for their tournament opener against Scotland a week on Saturday given the amount of preparation he’s likely to miss.
England’s build-up on the south coast has been beset with problems with injuries to key players Owen Farrell, Courtney Lawes and Jonny May.
On Tuesday it was also revealed their team hotel had to be evacuated due to an electrical fire. The team have now relocated to a different hotel.
Covid blow for Wales
Wales back rower Christ Tshiunza is a doubt for their opening match of the Six Nations after testing positive for Covid-19.
The Exeter forward, who has just two caps to his name, would have been in contention to feature against Ireland in Dublin on February 5 but now faces an anxious wait to see if he can deliver a positive LFT result in time to play.
A Welsh Rugby Union statement read: "After returning a positive lateral flow test on Monday’s entry screening, he immediately went into isolation. A subsequent PCR test taken on Monday confirmed the result. He will now isolate as per government guidelines."
Wales legends head to Waratahs
Former Wales centre Jamie Roberts has signed a one-year contract with NSW Waratahs after being released from his deal with Pro-12 side Dragons for personal reasons.
Roberts’ Australian partner is expecting their second child in March and is based in Sydney.
The 35-year-old, who’s expected to play inside centre, said: “I’m really excited to join the Waratahs. The adventure of playing in a new competition in a different country outside my comfort zone excites me.
”On the rugby front, I’m looking to hit the ground running, get up to speed quickly, perform on the pitch and help drive success.”