Lock George Martin has been ruled out of England’s Six Nations match against Scotland on Saturday with Bath flanker Ted Hill replacing him on the bench.
Martin, 23, started England’s win over France in round two, but was named as a replacement against Gregor Townsend’s side – initially the only change made by head coach Steve Borthwick as Ollie Chessum came into the second row.
Despite being named in the matchday squad on Tuesday, England confirmed Leicester Tigers’ Martin has failed to overcome a reported knee issue sustained against Les Blues.
In-form Bath flanker Hill, 25, has made two appearances for England and was last capped by former head coach Eddie Jones in 2021 against the United States.
“I’ve been an admirer of Ted for a while,” England captain Maro Itoje told BBC Sport. “He is a fantastic player and reminds me of Superman with his glasses and has a similar physic to him as well.
“I am very happy for him, I know he is going to do well.”
Given Hill plays in the back row, the loss of Martin puts pressure on Chessum, who is making his first England start in nearly a year, as England do not have a specialist lock on the bench – although Hill has on occasion played in the second row.
His last start in the second row came in Bath’s victory over Gloucester in October, with England senior assistant coach Richard Wigglesworth saying he trained “fully in that position” on Thursday.
“George was not quite right this morning so we made that decision pre-training,” Wigglesworth said.
“Ted is an incredible athlete, not only quick across the ground, but quick in the air, line-out time.
“He’ll add; he’s got a different set of super strengths to George Martin but we’ll expect him to bring the best of him when he comes on.”
England have lost their past four matches against Scotland and are looking to keep alive their title hopes, with Townsend’s side also in need of a win after a disappointing defeat by Ireland in round two.
