“Hilarious” training ground mishap rules out Care from first test against Kiwis
England has been forced into a late change for their opening Test against the All Blacks in Auckland due to injury.
Leicester Tigers player Ben Youngs will replace Danny Care after it was revealed the Harlequins scrum-half has not recovered from a shoulder injury which occurred during England training on Wednesday.
The Daily Mail have reported that the incident that caused the injury initially prompted much amusement from both the players and coaching staff.
“It was his own fault,” said England defence coach Andy Farrell.
“It was a s**t kick. He actually stubbed his foot on the floor, missed the ball completely and it was absolutely hilarious. He fell over and hurt his shoulder. I burst out laughing but then I realised it wasn’t too funny.
“It was a little grubber through on the floor, which he mis-kicked. He won’t be doing it again. I’ve got it on tape. I showed it to all the lads the next day; it was hilarious. But it wasn’t quite as good two days later when he wasn’t playing in a test match. Anyway, we’ll get over it.”
Whilst Care was touch and go to be available for the clash, 24-year-old Ben Youngs was called in to replace him at scrum-half.
England Head Coach Stuart Lancaster said: “Danny is getting there but we won’t take any risks and we need every player to be 100%.”
“Ben Youngs is one of our most experienced players – he has played against the All Blacks three times and is raring to go.”
Northampton Saints 29-year-old scrum-half Lee Dickson comes onto the replacements bench for the clash against the All Blacks on Saturday at Eden Park.
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