Rugby World Cup: Sam Underhill Replaces Jack Willis In England Squad
- Sam Underhill replaces injured Jack Willis in England squad.
Bath’s Sam Underhill will join up with England’s Rugby World Cup squad as a replacement for flanker Jack Willis.
Willis was ruled out of the tournament on Thursday with a neck injury sustained in the 71-0 win over Chile.
Underhill, 27, was dropped from England’s squad in July with Tom Willis and Tom Pearson initially preferred as back-row options before they failed to make the final Rugby World Cup party.
“Sam was outstanding this summer,” said defence coach Kevin Sinfield.
“He trained the house down and we have followed him closely and kept in touch.
“He is a Test match animal, a fantastic player and it shows some of the quality we have back in England.
“There are some small differences between him and Jack but many similarities and he is a great character as well – he knows what it is like to play well at World Cups.”
Sinfield added that “without a shadow of a doubt” Underhill would be in contention for selection for Sunday’s quarter-final against either Fiji, or less likely, Australia.
Underhill was a key part of England’s run to the final four years ago.
His partnership with Tom Curry – nicknamed the Kamikaze Kids by then-England coach Eddie Jones – was pivotal in the semi-final win over New Zealand at Japan 2019.
However, Underhill’s last international appearance was back in July 2022, with a series of injuries denying him regular game time.
“I was impressed by the environment, it is one of the best I have seen and I think regardless of the knee-jerk public outcry I think there is a lot of good stuff to come out of that group,” he said in August as England struggled in a series of warm-up games for the tournament.
A tight 18-17 win over Samoa on Saturday rounded off England’s Pool D campaign.
Centre Manu Tuilagi and hooker Jamie George picked up knocks in the victory but both are expected to be fit for the last-eight stage.
