Bevan Rodd will make his England debut against Australia on Saturday after Ellis Genge was ruled out following a positive coronavirus test as coach Eddie Jones grapples with a crisis at loosehead prop.

England rocked by positive Covid test in camp

Genge is the second England front-row forward forced to self-isolate after Joe Marler was also ruled out of the Autumn Nations series clash at Twickenham with a positive test.

This follows England’s eve-of-match preparations for last week’s 69-3 rout of Tonga being affected by a false test resulting in captain Owen Farrell missing the Test.

Scotland-born Rodd will make his debut just three days after being called into the camp as a replacement for Marler, with Trevor Davison providing cover on the bench.

Genge is now likely to miss next week’s World Cup final rematch with South Africa, the last of England’s November fixtures.

“Ellis is enormously disappointed,” said Jones. “He’s not sick at all, which is obviously the frustrating thing for him. He’s vice-captain of this team, loves playing against Australia and loves the challenge of playing at Twickenham.”

The England coach said 21-year-old Rodd, who plies his trade for Sale Sharks, had a “great opportunity” against arch-rivals Australia.

“We’ve got the greatest confidence in him, and Trevor’s been in our squad since summer now and deserves the opportunity off the bench.

“I’ve watched Bevan closely for the last 12 months. He’s a fantastic defensive player, a very good chop tackler and a strong scrummager.”

© Agence France-Presse