England kick off the Autumn leg of the Nations Championship on Sunday against Australia at the Allianz Stadium

England head coach Steve Borthwick has drafted in Bristol Bears' Harry Randall and Bath Rugby's Ben Spencer to fill the void left in his squad at scrum-half following injuries to Northampton Saints' half-back duo.

Alex Mitchell and Archie McParland have been ruled out of Sunday’s autumn opener against Australia in an escalation of the disruption faced by England at half-back.

With first-choice fly-half Fin Smith engaged in a race against time to recover from a calf strain in time for the Wallabies’ visit to Allianz Stadium, England have been forced to rule scrum-halves Mitchell and McParland out of contention.

Mitchell damaged his hamstring when on Northampton duty against Gloucester on Saturday and is to undergo a scan, placing his involvement in the second phase of the Nations Championship in doubt.

McParland missed the 28-14 victory at Franklin’s Gardens because of a calf issue sustained during England’s training camp last week and it is hoped he will recover in time to face Japan or New Zealand later in the month.

Spencer featured for England in the Nations Championship during the summer and has recently returned to action from shoulder surgery.

Randall last played for England in the summer of 2025, earning caps that season, all as a replacement. Since then he has feature for England A and been in and out of the natioanl team's training camps.

The squad, comprising 20 forwards and 16 backs, mets at England’s Performance Centre at Pennyhill Park this evening (Monday 2 November). “We’re looking forward to getting back to Allianz Stadium for four important Test matches against top-level opposition,” said Borthwick. “These fixtures take on added significance this Autumn as they represent our final opportunity to face Southern Hemisphere opposition before next year’s Rugby World Cup. “Facing Australia next Sunday is an exciting challenge. They have played a significant amount of Test rugby in recent months, and we know the quality and experience they will bring.” Following the Australia fixture, England will face Japan and New Zealand at Allianz Stadium in Rounds 5 and 6, before Finals Weekend from Friday 27 to Sunday 29 November. All of England’s Nations Championship fixtures will be broadcast live and exclusively on ITV1. Forwards: Fin Baxter (Harlequins) Ollie Chessum (Leicester Tigers) Arthur Clark (Gloucester Rugby) Alex Coles (Northampton Saints) Luke Cowan-Dickie (Sale Sharks) Ben Curry (Sale Sharks) Tom Curry (Sale Sharks) Theo Dan (Saracens) Ben Earl (Saracens) Greg Fisilau (Exeter Chiefs) Jamie George (Saracens) Ellis Genge ( Bristol Bears ) Joe Heyes (Leicester Tigers) Maro Itoje (Saracens) Emmanuel Iyogun (Northampton Saints) George Martin (Saracens) Asher Opoku-Fordjour (Sale Sharks) Tom Pearson (Northampton Saints) Henry Pollock (Northampton Saints) Will Stuart (Bath Rugby) Backs: Seb Atkinson (Gloucester Rugby) Fraser Dingwall (Northampton Saints) Immanuel Feyi-Waboso (Exeter Chiefs) George Ford (Sale Sharks) Tommy Freeman (Northampton Saints) George Furbank (Harlequins) Will Joseph (Gloucester Rugby) Joe Marchant (Sale Sharks) Cadan Murley (Harlequins) Harry Randall (Bristol Bears) Henry Slade (Exeter Chiefs) Fin Smith (Northampton Saints) Marcus Smith (Harlequins) Ben Spencer (Bath Rugby) Freddie Steward (Leicester Tigers) Jack van Poortvliet (Leicester Tigers)