England was forced to make a late change to its starting lineup for Saturday’s rugby test against Australia after losing another prop on what coach Eddie Jones called their COVID-19 “rollercoaster.”
Ellis Genge returned a positive test on Friday and has gone into isolation.
England said no other positive tests were received among players or staff, and training went ahead as planned on Friday.
Genge was replaced by the uncapped Bevan Rodd, who was called into the squad only after fellow prop Joe Marler tested positive for COVID-19 on Monday. Trevor Davison has been promoted to the bench.
It is the second straight November test where Jones has had to change plans at the last minute because of a player testing positive for the coronavirus.
England captain Owen Farrell did so ahead of the game against Tonga on Saturday, which the English won 69-3. It proved to be a false-positive, but Farrell was told that only on Sunday.
“We just treat it as normal now. Every day is an adventure and we’re on bit of a rollercoaster at the moment,” Jones said.
“COVID keeps coming. We just accept it and get on with it. It’s not going to go away, it will keep coming. Every time we have a case we deal with it better, emotionally and operationally.”
Missing the Cook Cup clash is a blow for Genge, who has established himself as England’s first-choice loosehead after years of fierce competition with Marler and Mako Vunipola.
Genge will also miss the match against South Africa next weekend.
“Ellis is enormously disappointed,” Jones said. “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. He will rebound. It would be an interesting isolation if he and Marler were together! Fortunately they are not because we might only end up with one coming out!”
The 21-year-old Rodd, who was born in Scotland, has gone from being out of the squad to a starter against Australia in three days.
“I’ve watched Bevan closely for the last 12 months,” Jones said. “He’s a fantastic defensive player, a very good chop tackler and a strong scrummager.
“The response the team gave him when he was announced as a starting member was quite emotional.”
Since Jones took over after the 2015 Rugby World Cup, England has won all seven of its matches against the Wallabies.
Australia captain Michael Hooper rejected the suggestion his team has an inferiority complex when it comes to the English.
“I don’t feel that way,” said Hooper, whose team lost to Scotland 15-13 on Sunday.
“What an occasion it’s going to be. Understanding what the scene is going to be like is important. This will be a level up on Scotland last weekend.
“We’ve got a lot of players who haven’t played up here so we need to understand that the crowd is going to be vocal and loud. It’s about using that to an advantage at times. It’s the 15 of us out there and then the reserves with the finishers to come on, so it feels like it will be pretty lonely in there and that’s a great place to be.”
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