England suffer double blow ahead of Boks clash

England today suffered a major double injury blow ahead of their World Cup showdown with South Africa.

Lions Matt Dawson and Richard Hill have both failed to recover from injuries sustained in last Sunday’s 84-6 victory over Georgia.

Dawson’s place at scrum-half will be taken by Kyran Bracken, with Leicester’s Lewis Moody lining up in the back row instead of Hill.

Andy Gomarsall will provide scrum-half cover on the bench with Joe Worsley also now featuring among the replacements.

England head coach Clive Woodward had hoped that Dawson and Hill, who have more than 100 Test caps between them, would recover in time.

Both players suffered hamstring-related problems during the Georgia game, and Woodward today announced the decision to draft in Bracken and Moody.

England’s build-up to the Springboks clash – a game which could shape their World Cup destiny – has been badly affected by injury troubles.

Bracken, Gomarsall and centre Mike Tindall all had varying ailments, but they were able to take part in England’s final workout today.