Papa Gregan back to face England

Australia captain George Gregan will head back to England for Saturday’s Twickenham Test after rushing home for the birth of his daughter.

The scrum-half, who played against Ireland in Dublin last weekend, arrived at Sydney airport yesterday in time to be with his wife, Erica.

She gave birth to Charlie this morning.

The news that Gregan will be back to take on England will be a relief for the Wallabies management who must revive their team after Saturday’s surprise defeat to the Irish.

Australia have lost their last two meetings with England.

Gregan had the backing of coach Eddie Jones to fly half-way round the world and back again inside a matter of days.

“Becoming a father doesn’t happen too many times in your life and he’s a pretty resilient character,” said Jones.

“If he wasn’t a total professional it would be very difficult for him to tackle what he’s going to do.

“There are few players in the world with such a professional approach to the game.”