Steve Borthwick has been urged by Prem Rugby head coaches to consider resting British & Irish Lions players during England\u2019s autumn internationals campaign on welfare grounds.<\/p>\n
Players who appeared on the Lions tour<\/a> in Australia over the summer were mandated 10 weeks off, ensuring they will miss the first two rounds of the new season and be available for three before England begin their November campaign against the Wallabies.<\/p>\n Tom Curry has undergone pre-planned wrist surgery, after starring for the Lions with a torn ligament, and is unlikely to feature for Sale before England in the autumn, while players such as Tommy Freeman (who played 34 times), Maro Itoje and Ben Earl (both 33) \u2013 thus exceeding the 30-match limit last season \u2013 are expected to be managed through the campaign.<\/p>\n In 2021 nine of England\u2019s 10 Test Lions sustained significant injuries the following season after returning ahead of schedule for their clubs. Eight years ago Itoje and Owen Farrell were forced to sit out one of England\u2019s autumn fixtures after the 2017 Lions tour because of their \u201cexceptional workloads\u201d with Eddie Jones revealing the pair, who missed out on their \u00a325,000 match fees, were furious.<\/p>\n The club-country agreement signed last year guarantees Test players an international salary of \u00a3160,000, however, and Prem clubs believe the cost of meeting welfare demands could be shared between them and England, who also face Fiji, New Zealand and Argentina this autumn.<\/p>\n Clubs can apply for Lions players to be given special dispensation to be available for the start of the season this month.<\/p>\n Farrell has been cleared to make his second Saracens debut against Newcastle Red Bulls with his late call\u2011up to the Lions tour coming after a lengthy injury-enforced break, but in general directors of rugby are abiding by the agreement and want England to share the load.<\/p>\n Owen Farrell is expected to feature for Saracens from the start of the season after rejoining the club. Photograph: Steve Haag Sports\/Shutterstock<\/p>\n Asked if Freeman, Henry Pollock, Fin Smith and Alex Mitchell could be rested, the Northampton director of rugby, Phil Dowson, said: \u201cI\u2019ve mooted that. Steve as you know is non-committal when it comes to that stuff. Nearer the time he might be. He\u2019s not going to make any promises now, and I don\u2019t expect him to.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019ve said my piece, and what I think needs to happen, and everyone at the RFU, [the performance director] Phil Morrow and everyone understands that.\u201d<\/p>\n The Saracens director of rugby, Mark McCall, has given Itoje, Jamie George and Earl an extra week off but Farrell is primed to begin the season with his boyhood club.<\/p>\n \u201cOwen is different and he\u2019ll be available for week one,\u201d said McCall, who revealed Elliot Daly is on course to be back from his broken arm<\/a> in October. \u201cWe haven\u2019t actually spoken about which week [the others] will come back.\u201d Asked if they could be rested by Borthwick, McCall said: \u201cIt depends what the Tests are. If there is an \u2018easier\u2019 one then those are things that we could have some common sense around, so that it\u2019s fair-ish. But I think if you ask a player then he\u2019ll want to play in international games and we\u2019ll always support that.\u201d<\/p>\n skip past newsletter promotion<\/a><\/p>\n The latest rugby union news and analysis, plus all the week’s action reviewed<\/p>\n Privacy Notice: Newsletters may contain information about charities, online ads, and content funded by outside parties. If you do not have an account, we will create a guest account for you on theguardian.com<\/a> to send you this newsletter. You can complete full registration at any time. For more information about how we use your data see our Privacy Policy<\/a>. We use Google reCaptcha to protect our website and the Google Privacy Policy<\/a> and Terms of Service<\/a> apply.<\/p>\n after newsletter promotion<\/p>\n Curry is in a race against time to be available for England\u2019s autumn campaign after surgery. \u201cHis return to play sits him somewhere around the autumn internationals so you\u2019re more likely [to see him] in an England shirt than in a Sale shirt,\u201d the Sale director of rugby, Alex Sanderson, said. \u201cBut you never know, he has a habit of defying comeback dates and what surgeons say.\u201d<\/p>\n Scotland\u2019s fly-half Finn Russell appeared 37 times for Bath last season and, like Harlequins\u2019 Marcus Smith, is still on holiday. \u201cPlayer welfare is exceptionally important but you\u2019ve got to look after each player individually,\u201d the Bath head coach, Johann van Graan, said. \u201cThe onus is on club and country. We\u2019re going to look after Finn incredibly well, as we have done over the last two years. Our relationship is extremely good.\u201d<\/p>\n