England star forced to pull out of squad after testing positive for Covid-19

Tuesday, 06 October 2020 at 20:02

bySteven Smith

Piers Francis will not be part of this week's England squad because of a positive screening test for Covid19, the RFU has confirmed.

"The centre is following the relevant isolation protocols at home inline with PHE- agreed guidelines." said their statement on Twitter.

England have six upcoming fixtures this autumn starting with the uncapped Quilter Cup against the Barbarians (25 October, KO 2pm GMT, live on Sky Sports).

Following a trip to Rome to face Italy (31 Oct, KO 4.45pm GMT, live on ITV) in the final round of the delayed 2020 Guinness Six Nations, England will play four matches as part of the Autumn Nations Cup.

Quilter Internationals at Twickenham Stadium against Georgia (14 November, KO 3pm) and Ireland (21 November, KO 3pm), an away match v Wales (28 November, KO 4pm) before returning to Twickenham for a placing match to determine final position in the competition (6 December, KO 2pm). All Autumn Nations Cup games will be live on Amazon Prime.

BACKS

Ali Crossdale, Saracens*
Elliot Daly, Saracens
Fraser Dingwall, Northampton Saints*
Nathan Earle, Harlequins*
Owen Farrell, Saracens
George Ford, Leicester Tigers
Piers Francis, Northampton Saints
George Furbank, Northampton Saints
Willi Heinz, Gloucester Rugby
Joe Marchant, Harlequins
Jonny May, Gloucester Rugby
Alex Mitchell, Northampton Saints*
Ollie Thorley, Gloucester Rugby*
Ben Youngs, Leicester Tigers

FORWARDS

Jack Clement, Gloucester Rugby*
Alex Dombrandt, Harlequins*
Ellis Genge, Leicester Tigers
Jamie George, Saracens
Joe Heyes, Leicester Tigers*
Maro Itoje, Saracens
Simon Kerrod, Harlequins*
Lewis Ludlow, Gloucester Rugby*
Alex Moon, Northampton Saints*
David Ribbans, Northampton Saints*
Jack Singleton, Gloucester Rugby
Billy Vunipola, Saracens
Mako Vunipola, Saracens
Mark Wilson, Newcastle Falcons

* Uncapped players

JOIN THE RUCK:

RANKED | The 10 highest paid people in rugby union, 2020

Keep reading to see the top 10 highest-paid people in rugby union, ranked in ascending order of earnings.

9=. ANDY FARRELL £600k (Ireland)

The first of two Farrell's on this list, Andy received a significant pay boost when he took over from Joe Schmidt following the 2019 Rugby World Cup.

9=. DAN BIGGAR £600k (Northampton Saints)

The Welsh pivot has made the most of his big-money move from Ospreys to Northampton Saints, where he has shone consistently since joining in 2018.

8. STEVE LUATUA £650k (Bristol Bears)

Didn't make any friends within the All Blacks hierarchy when he decided to cash in on his extreme rugby talent, signing for Bristol in 2017. Has since signed a two-year contract extension. The All Blacks aren’t allowed by the New Zealand Rugby Union to pick exiles.

6=. OWEN FARRELL £750k (Saracens)

The England captain signed his deal a while ago. It's set to run until 2022 when he can expect to earn an increase again wherever he decides to play, assuming rugby hasn't completely decided to tighten its belt by then.

6=. EDDIE JONES £750k (England)

The highest-paid international rugby coach. His salary pales in comparison to Manchester City chief Pep Guardiola (£20million) and England football chief Gareth Southgate (£3m).

5. PAT LAM £800k (Bristol Bears)

The former Newcastle, Northampton and Samoa back-row will remain at Ashton Gate until at least 2023 after signing a bumper contract extension in 2019. The 50-year-old, as a result, became the highest paid rugby boss in the world.

4. MARO ITOJE £825k (Saracens)

Signed a new deal last year that was reportedly between £750,000 and £1 million. He's one of the front runners to captain the Lions
next year and is widely regarded as the best lock in the world, with the salary to match.

3. EBEN ETZEBETH £900k (Toulon)

The 28-year-old Springbok extended his stay at the French club in July by signing a new three-year deal with the club that will see him remain at the club until June 2023.

2=. CHARLES PIUTAU £1m (Bristol Bears)

The former New Zealand wing or full-back become British rugby’s first million-pound player when he signed for Bristol Bears. The former All Black speedster, who deserted his international ambitions at the premature age of 23, has consistently been one of the best players in Europe since 2015.

1=. HANDRE POLLARD £1m (Montpellier)

The World Cup-winning Springboks playmaker Handre Pollard became the joint highest paid rugby player in the world alongside Piutau when he agreed to leave the Bulls in Super Rugby to join Montpellier in the Top 14 last year.