England are set to face South Africa, Fiji and Argentina in the Nations Championship this summer, but they may have to do it without a pair of front-row stars.
Steve Borthwick’s side had a forgettable Six Nations campaign in 2026 as they lost four of their five fixtures, including their first ever defeat to Italy.
England will face South Africa first this summer, with the Springboks being in devastating form across the last year, and so it is likely the Northern Hemisphere side could go five games in a row without a victory.
In order to cause a surprise in the Rainbow Nation, England will need their best players and finest squad fully fit and firing; however, it is likely they will be missing two key players for this clash.
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Sale Sharks progressed to the quarter-final of the Champions Cup after they beat Harlequins on Saturday night, but the Manchester side suffered further injuries to key players.
The story of their season.
Luke Cowan-Dickie and Bevan Rodd were forced off the pitch with concerning injuries which are set to rule them out for the rest of the club season, adding to Alex Sanderson’s woes.
The Sale director of rugby suggested to the Telegraph that the pair could miss England’s inaugural Nations Championship, which begins in July, and miss the rest of the club season.
He said: “We’ve lost a couple of soldiers in Bev and Dickie.
“Dickie has done something to his wrist or forearm, which is not good. It’s a suspected break – he thinks it is, but I’m not a medical expert. He’s tough, and when I asked him [how he was], he was just shaking his head.
“Bev has dislocated his shoulder, and that had to be put back in on the field. We’ve not had much of either of them all season, if I’m honest. They are brilliant. One is a Lion, in Luke, and the other I think is of British & Irish Lions quality, in Bev.”
Sale will now face either Leinster or Edinburgh in the quarter-final of the Champions Cup, which was already set to be a tough challenge, but it has been even more difficult with the loss of this front-row pair.
Yet, the Northern English mentality to fight against the odds and prove doubters wrong will not allow Sale to be pushovers, and they will battle to the end when they face either Celtic club next weekend.
England and their fans will rightly be concerned about the injuries to these two players, as Rodd and Cowan-Dickie were involved in all of Borthwick’s sides’ Six Nations matches this year.
The loss of Cowan-Dickie could be seen as slightly more damaging due to the career he has had to this point, having been a two-tour Lion, including their successful series win in 2025 over Australia under Andy Farrell, while he has also made 58 caps for England, including a substitute appearance in the 2019 World Cup final defeat to South Africa.
Topics: Rugby, Rugby Union
Brendan McGilligan