England have lost their first-choice scrum-half for Sunday's Test against Australia. Alex Mitchell hurt a hamstring in Northampton's Prem win over Gloucester on Saturday, The Guardian reported. He will have a scan on Tuesday to find out how serious the injury is.
Archie McParland, Mitchell's uncapped Northampton teammate, will also miss the Wallabies match. He picked up a calf injury while training with England last week, after his second call-up to the senior squad. With both players out, Leicester's Jack van Poortvliet is expected to start at No 9. Either Randall or Spencer will be on the bench.
According to The Guardian, the week gives Randall and Spencer a big chance to make their case, with the World Cup less than a year away. The two offer different styles. Randall is known for his sniping running game at Bristol. Spencer, who recently returned for Bath after shoulder surgery, is known for his tactical kicking.
Gloucester's Seb Atkinson, Exeter's Immanuel Feyi-Waboso and Northampton's Fin Smith are all in the 36-man squad despite recent injury worries. Bath's Max Ojomoh and Saracens' Noah Caluori drop out. In the forwards, uncapped Bath hooker Kepu Tuipulotu, 21, is out injured and Saracens' Theo Dan returns. Harlequins fly-half Marcus Smith is widely expected to push Fin Smith for the No 10 shirt, The Guardian said.
Borthwick said England were looking forward to four important Tests at Allianz Stadium. He said the matches carry extra weight as England's last chance to face southern hemisphere teams before next year's World Cup. He called Australia an exciting challenge and noted that the Wallabies have played a lot of Test rugby in recent months.
Scotland also have injury problems. Flanker Jamie Ritchie and prop Elliot Millar Mills will miss all four November matches. Ritchie is expected to be out for four to six weeks with a suspected medial collateral ligament injury. Edinburgh forwards Ollie Blyth-Lafferty, D'Arcy Rae and Freddy Douglas have been called into Gregor Townsend's squad. Scotland play New Zealand at Murrayfield on Saturday.