George a doubt for Six Nations opener after Saracens slip

Jamie George is a doubt for England's Six Nations opener against Ireland after limping out of Saracens' Champions Cup defeat by Castres with a hamstring injury to cap a miserable week for the 34-year-old.

- Gerard Meagher

George, who was replaced by Maro Itoje as England captain last Tuesday, was a second-half replacement here but could do little to stop Saracens letting the match slip through their fingers, ensuring they face an away fixture against Toulon in the last 16.

Compounding matters for the hooker, he was withdrawn in the closing minutes and, with England beginning their Six Nations campaign in less than a fortnight, Steve Borthwick has a sizeable headache. "Jamie has hurt his hamstring," Mark McCall, the Saracens director of rugby, said. "We're not quite sure how serious it is at the moment."

It was not a great afternoon for Borthwick - the form of Theo Dan aside. If George is unavailable against Ireland, Dan and Luke Cowan-Dickie are likely to fight it out for the No 2 jersey. Borthwick is without Immanuel Feyi-Waboso, Sam Underhill and George Furbank through injury.