Spencer and Randall Called Up as England Lose Mitchell and McParland

England have drafted in two scrum-halves after injuries struck their squad for the Nations Championship. Ben Spencer and Harry Randall have been named in the group, according to the BBC, replacing Alex Mitchell and Archie McParland.

The scrum-half is the player who takes the ball from the base of the scrum or the ruck, the tangle of bodies that forms over the ball on the ground, and then passes it out to the backs. It is a position where a squad can feel thin very quickly.

Mitchell is the bigger blow. He left Northampton Saints' match against Gloucester after 21 minutes on Saturday with a hamstring injury, which is a pulled muscle at the back of the thigh. Sky Sports reported that he was ruled out, and he was due to have a scan on Monday to find out how serious the problem is. Mitchell was also a regular on last year's British and Irish Lions tour, where he featured in every match-day squad.

McParland, who is 21, picked up a calf injury during England's three-day training camp last week. He has been ruled out of England's match against Australia on Sunday. The BBC reports that he could still be in contention for the games against Japan on 14 November and New Zealand on 21 November.

Head coach Steve Borthwick has made five changes to his squad in total. Planet Rugby noted that one of the bigger worries had eased.

Theo Dan has come in as England's third hooker. The hooker throws the ball in at lineouts, the lines of players that form when the ball goes out of play, and is one of the three front-row forwards who lock horns in the scrum. Kepu Tuipulotu was injured during the same training camp and has dropped out of the squad.

Elsewhere, there were comebacks for Seb Atkinson and Immanuel Feyi-Waboso, both named after returning from injury with their clubs. Ollie Lawrence and Max Ojomoh have been left out of the squad altogether.

Fin Smith was struggling with a calf problem ahead of the Australia game, so England will be keeping a close eye on him in the days before kick-off. Jack van Poortvliet started all three of England's summer Tests, and his place at the base of the team is one of the questions that now sits alongside the injury news.

For Spencer and Randall, the call-up is a chance to show what they can do at the highest level. For England, the next few days will bring clearer answers on Mitchell's hamstring and McParland's calf, and those answers will shape how many scrum-halves Borthwick takes into the next two matches.