England call up hooker cover for final summer tour match in USA

Gabriel Oghre and Jamie Blamire replace Jamie George and Theo Dan for Saturday’s clash with the United States

Jamie George (left) has been called up by the Lions while Theo Dan (right) is injured leaving England short of hookers in the USA (Adam Davy/PA Wire)

England have called up Gabriel Oghre and Jamie Blamire as hooker cover for the final match of their summer tour against the USA in Washington DC.

The second Test against Argentina in San Juan hit their hooking stocks hard, with Jamie George called up by the British & Irish Lions and Theo Dan suffering a knee injury that has ruled him out of the rest of the tour.

George had hoped to play in the Test after leading a young squad on this tour, but was asked to withdraw from the game by Lions head coach Andy Farrell to ensure he did not pick up and injury or a suspension before flying out to Brisbane.

Meanwhile, Dan, who stepped into the starting line-up as a result, suffered an injury to his knee in the second half of the encounter and was forced off.

He underwent a scan to determine the nature of the damage. He had previously spent 15 months on the sidelines with an injury to the same knee prior to breaking onto the international scene.

As a result of these absences, Steve Borthwick has been forced into calling up two hookers for the final match in the States.

Curtis Langdon, the Northampton Saints hooker, came off the bench in the 22-17 win over Los Pumas, and would appear to be in pole position to start against the Eagles.

Meanwhile, Bristol Bears hooker Oghre and Leicester Tigers No.2 Blamire were on standby for the tour and will now fly out to join the rest of the squad.

Bristol Bears hooker Gabriel Oghre will provide cover for England's final tour game against the USA (Getty Images)

That could see Oghre earn his first cap, having toured with England in New Zealand last summer without making an appearance.

He did feature for England A last year as they beat Australia A, and was part of the Bears team that reached the Gallagher Premiership play-offs this season.

Blamire, meanwhile, has seven caps to his name, having made his debut back in 2021 against the USA.

He came off the bench to score a try in that encounter before scoring a hat-trick a week later against Canada, only the second England men’s hooker to achieve the feat after George had done so in 2020.

Leicester Tigers’ Jamie Blamire has been recalled to the England team for the summer tour of the Americas (Getty Images)

Blamire, who had spent his entire career at Newcastle Falcons before joining Leicester Tigers this summer, has a remarkable try-scoring record for his country, racking up six tries in his seven caps to date.

Borthwick could have looked at some younger alternatives in Sale Sharks’ new signing Nathan Jibulu and England Under-20s Kepu Tuipulotu, who is set to captain them at the World Rugby Under-20s Championship against Wales in Italy, while Tom Dunn, Jack Singleton and Jack Walker have all won caps in the past.

England will look to complete a perfect record on their tour of the Americas by beating the USA in Washington DC next Saturday.

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