England coach Steve Borthwick was forced to include five players in the group which began preparations for the 6 Nations Tournament in Girona (Spain) after injuries this weekend to hooker Jamie George, second row Alex Coles, third center line Alex Dombrandt and the two scrum halves Jack van Poortvliet and Alex Mitchell. The latter two were replaced by Ben Spencer and Raffi Quirke but Mitchell, who is on a crutch and had already missed the autumn tests, traveled to Spain to undergo his rehabilitation with the team and should be handed over for the English's first match, against Ireland in Dublin on February 1.