By Mark Stevens
8/1/23
Exeter Chiefs hooker Luke Cowan-Dickie has given new England head coach Steve Borthwick an injury scare four weeks before the Six Nations opener against Scotland.
The Cornishman was helped off with an ankle problem after scoring two tries in the Chiefs’ 35-12 Gallagher Premiership victory over Northampton Saints at Sandy Park.
The Chiefs head to South Africa today ahead of next weekend’s Heineken Champions Cup clash with the Bulls in Pretoria.
“He has rolled his ankle and I am not quite sure where he is at,” Exeter head coach Ali Hepher said. “But to get him off the pitch, it must be pretty sore, so we will obviously assess where he is.”
Chiefs’ Scotland international full-back Stuart Hogg, meanwhile, is battling to overcome a heel injury that has sidelined him for the last two Premiership games.
“He has got a bruised heel,” Hepher added. “He tested today, he tried to run on Monday and today, but didn’t look too great. It (South Africa trip) is obviously a quick turnaround and we can’t take the whole squad out there. We just need to make a quick call on that and get a good read on it pretty early.”
Exeter’s bonus-point success saw them climb three places to fifth after tries from Cowan-Dickie, No.8 Sam Simmonds, wing Olly Woodburn and centre Henry Slade put them in control.
“The conditions were so bad it restricted what you could do, but tactically on the whole we were superb,” Hepher said. “That was the reaction we wanted. We are a young improving side and we got a lot of learnings out there.”
