England and Saracens hooker Jamie George has been called up to the British and Irish Lions tour on week out from the first Test against Australia.  

Head coach Andy Farrell has brought in cover at hooker after Luke Cowan-Dickie was forced off in Saturday’s 48-0 victory over an AUNZ Invitational XV in Adelaide.

Cowan-Dickie was stretchered from the field after appearing to be knocked out when making a tackle and while he was seen walking around the field at half-time, he faces a spell on the sidelines that has forced the Lions to seek reinforcements.

“He’s [Cowan-Dickie] good and in good spirits,” head coach Farrell told Sky Sports.

“He got up straight away off the stretcher. It’s unfortunate for him and it looked like a concussion. We’ll see what the medics say.”

George was scheduled to co-captain England in their second Test against Argentina on Saturday but will instead fly out to Australia on his third Lions tour after featuring in New Zealand in 2017 and South Africa in 2021.

Saracens hooker Theo Dan replaces George in the England starting XV in San Juan, with Northampton’s Curtis Langdon joining the replacements.

“We’re absolutely delighted for Jamie’s selection,” said England head coach Steve Borthwick.

“This is also a fantastic opportunity for Theo and Curtis, who have both worked incredibly hard and really impressed in training.

“They fully deserve this chance, we’re right behind them, and we’re all excited to see them go out there and make an impact.”

Ringrose out of first Test with concussion

Garry Ringrose is unavailable for the British and Irish Lions’ first Test against Australia on Saturday after head coach Andy Farrell confirmed he was struggling with concussion.

Ringrose suffered a head injury in Wednesday’s victory over the ACT Brumbies and faces a minimum 12-day stand down period, preventing him from taking part in the series opener in Brisbane.

“Garry had a delayed reaction. He had headaches for a day and it carried on for the next day so he went through concussion protocols and failed those,” Farrell said.

“Unfortunately for him and for us he’s 12 days so that puts him out of the first Test and back in for the midweek game before the second Test (against First Nations & Pasifika XV on July 22).

“You don’t mess around with these things and it is unfortunate for him and everyone else. He’s in good spirits anyway so we crack on.”

More to follow.