Rugby Union: Callard called up: England full-back problem

IF THERE is an injury to be suffered it seems David Pears will suffer it, and yesterday England summoned Jonathan Callard to South Africa to replace the accident-prone full-back, writes Steve Bale from Durban.

Pears now has a pulled cartilage in his chest to add to the sundry other afflictions of the past two years. He was hurt in the first two minutes of the game against Natal but did not leave the field for an hour until his suspect right hamstring tightened when he took a kick-off as Rob Andrew was changing a contact lens.

Callard was due to travel to Zimbabwe with the Barbarians this week but, having been re-routed, will meet up with the tour party in Johannesburg en route to Pretoria tomorrow. It is welcome rehabilitation after his free-fall to a lowly fourth in the full-back pecking-order from being England's match-winner against New Zealand and Scotland.