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Tom Hamilton, Senior Writer
MARSEILLE, France — England have called up Bath back-row Sam Underhill as a replacement for the injured Jack Willis ahead of their Rugby World Cup quarterfinal.
England will face either Fiji or Australia next weekend in Marseille, but were dealt an injury blow following their comprehensive win over Chile on Sept. 23. Flanker Willis picked up a neck injury in that victory which has ruled him out of the rest of the tournament.
Steve Borthwick waited until after England’s final pool stage match against Samoa on Saturday to name Willis’ replacement and Underhill was confirmed as the new addition to the squad on Sunday.
Underhill was named in the original training squad for the World Cup but was cut from the group in mid-July before the warm-up matches. He played for Bath in their Premiership Cup victory over Exeter on Saturday and will join the team ahead of their quarterfinal.
“Firstly it is probably only fair to say we’re really disappointed to lose Jack Willis and wish him the best and want him back on the field as soon as possible,” England assistant coach Kevin Sinfield said. “One door closes for someone and another one opens. Sam was outstanding with us during the summer. He trained the house down but unfortunately for whatever reason which I won’t share with you, he didn’t stay with us.
“We followed him closely and stayed in touch. He is a Test match animal and is a fantastic player. It just shows the quality that we have back in England and we’re delighted he’s been able to join us.
“It is a like for like replacement. He brings some differences but many similarities and he’s a great character as well. He knows what it is like to play well at World Cups. He has done it previously and he brings a great deal of experience too.”
Underhill is firmly in the frame to feature in their quarterfinal. “He’ll come in hard, there’s no doubt about that,” Sinfield added. “He’s a smart guy and he’ll pick things up really, really quickly and we require a simple plan anyway because of the time we have had together it is meant to be that way. Sam will be great.”