Francis becomes second Saints player to miss out on England camp due to self-isolation

Piers Francis will not be part of this week's England training squad after testing positive for Covid-19.

By Tom Vickers

Published 6th Oct 2020, 20:17 BST

Updated 6th Oct 2020, 20:20 BST

Piers Francis will not be with England this week

The camp is taking place from Tuesday to Thursday, with Francis one of six Saints players who got the call.

Lewis Ludlam had already been ruled out as he is self-isolating after playing last Tuesday against a Sale Sharks side who have registered 19 positive tests - 16 of which are from players.

And now it appears that Francis, who came on for the final 20 minutes of the match, is also feeling the impact of featuring in last week's game at Franklin's Gardens.

The RFU released a statement on Tuesday night, which read: "Piers Francis (Northampton Saints) will not be part of this week’s England camp because of a positive screening test for Covid-19.

"Francis is following relevant isolation protocols at home in line with PHE-agreed guidelines."