Martin’s absence sees England lose scrum heft and a specialist lock from their bench, with Alex Coles still working his way back up to full fitness despite being fit to return to the wider squad after injury.
England captain Maro Itoje has compared Ted Hill to Superman after the Bath forward was whisked into the matchday squad to face Scotland.
The 23-year-old, one of the side’s hardest hitters, has dealt with a number of knee issues so far in his career, but England’s attack coach Richard Wigglesworth insisted that his latest absence was unrelated and that England are not overly concerned.
While ordinarily deployed on the blindside by Bath, Hill started at lock against Gloucester in the Premiership earlier this season and England have full faith that he can cover the position at Test level.
Hill is a glasses off the pitch and has drawn comparisons to Superman’s civilian persona Clark Kent, and Itoje is excited to see his colleague don the cape in the Calcutta Cup.
