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Wasps Lock out of match at Twickenham because of hamstring injury
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Launchbury’s place in squad taken by Northampton’s Courtney Lawes
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Lawes had been released on Tuesday with Launchbury expected to be fit
Joe Launchbury will miss England’s Six Nations clash with Ireland on Saturday and is replaced in the squad by Courtney Lawes.
The Wasps lock has been struggling with a hamstring injury and England’s medical staff decided on Wednesday he would not be fit in time for the match at Twickenham.
Northampton forward Lawes had been left out of Eddie Jones’ 23-man squad on Tuesday, losing out to Saracens youngster Maro Itoje, who could be set to make his first international start on Saturday.
“I think it’s a competitive position right now, and that’s a good thing,” assistant coach Steve Borthwick said of England’s second-row area.
“We’ve got a mixture of players there with different levels of experience. That’s a really good thing for the squad to make that a competitive area.
“With that it spurs the intensity of training. Eddie (Jones, England coach) will finalise the selections for the squad and team that we think can win the game this weekend.”