England scrum-halves Alex Mitchell and Archie McParland ruled out of Australia clash

England scrum-halves Alex Mitchell and Archie McParland have been ruled out of Sunday's autumn opener against Australia due to injuries. Mitchell suffered a hamstring issue while playing for Northampton Saints, while McParland sustained a calf problem during England training. In response, head coach Steve Borthwick has called up Ben Spencer and Harry Randall to join Jack van Poortvliet as scrum-half options in the 36-man squad.

England also faces disruption at fly-half, with Fin Smith given until Wednesday to recover from a calf strain. Additional squad adjustments saw Immanuel Feyi-Waboso, Seb Atkinson, and hooker Theo Dan drafted into the group, while Kepueli Tuipulotu, Noah Caluori, and Max Ojomoh dropped out.