Haskell and Care impress after return to England fold

The national side has undergone a transformation under Lancaster since Haskell was last involved during last autumn’s terrible World Cup campaign.

The 27-year-old did not feature as Lancaster’s tenure began with this year’s RBS Six Nations as he opted to play club rugby in Japan and New Zealand. But after rejoining former club Wasps for next season, Lancaster included Haskell in his 42-man party for the upcoming three-Test series in South Africa.

Following the completion of his stint with Highlanders, Haskell has now joined up with the squad training in Durban ahead of Saturday’s first Test.

Lancaster has never previously worked with Haskell, but when asked if he expected the player to fit in with his new regime, said: “I spoke one-to-one with James Haskell last night, it was a positive meeting.

“Since the World Cup he has been at different clubs in different environments and, as he said to me, he is very keen to come in and make a good impression and force his way into the Test team. That is his aim.”

Lancaster said Haskell was unlikely to make the side for the first Springboks clash at Durban’s Kings Park this weekend.

Due to what Lancaster described as “jetlag protocols” following Haskell’s arrival from New Zealand, the player is yet to participate in a training session.

London Irish flanker Jamie Gibson has also joined up with the squad after being called up as a replacement for the injured Joe Launchbury.

Prop Alex Corbisiero and winger David Strettle both missed training yesterday with knee and calf injuries respectively, but the problems are not considered serious.

Another face back in the fold is Harlequins scrum-half Danny Care.

The 25-year-old former Leeds Tykes academy product ended a controversial season on a high with some influential performances as Quins claimed the Premiership title.

Care was overlooked for the Six Nations by Lancaster following a series of off-field incidents.

Lancaster said: “He is delighted to be back in and knows he has got to work his way into the team but he has made a great start.”*

Scotland head coach Andy Robinson is convinced that his side’s chances in today’s Test match against Australia will depend almost entirely on their ability to stop flanker and new captain David Pocock.

“We need to create a bit of mayhem there,” he said. “We have to be really accurate inside our half, accurate defensively and accurate when we have got the ball. That means not getting turned over in our half – something that we did not do well in the Six Nations.”