News about Joe Launchbury

NIK SIMON - BIK SIMON – Thibaud Flament's mind was somewhere between business lectures and his next match against Loughborough University's fifth team when his phone rang. The Belgium Under 20s coach was on the phone and their chat went something like this. Coach: 'We've got the European B tournament coming up, you won't be first choice because we've got someone else, but would you like to come and play for us?'

BY SIMON, an acronym that has not played international rugby since 2020 and migrated to Japan last year after his club Wasps went bankrupt. After Leicester's Ollie Chessum suffered a serious ankle injury during the Six Nations, England's lock combination is also up for discussion. Borthwick has been to Launchbury, 32, in recent weeks, in regards to the forthcoming training camp, according to Mail Sport. Launchbury has been included on a long list of candidates and is thought to have been barred from Twickenham's Barbarians fixture next week.

COMMENT: The shock is seismic. The landscape of English rugby has been drastically changed at a stroke. Wasps are no longer available. Gone. The sport's marquee name has been misspelled. And so much in this season of turbulence and upheaval, it's difficult to comprehend. As the struggling but beloved club went into administration last fall under a mountain of debt, there were soon encouraging signs of a forthcoming revival. Saviours have appeared, or at least it seemed. However, those who wanted to resuscitate Wasps were unable to find a way to do so. They've been looking for a solution for months and months, but the numbers don't add up.

bY CHRIS FOY: When Hugh Tizard revealed last year that he was crossing London's north-south divide to join Saracens, it caused a shock at Harlequins. He had a shock of his own months later. It wasn't so much the rugby reform with which the 22-year-old lock had to cope with, but it was more the everyday life upheaval. All of a sudden, he was confronted with the prospect of an empty fridge and paying bills in the middle of a cost-of-living crisis.

ALEX BYWATER: Joe Launchbury - the club's founder, went bust, and the England lock departed to Japan in search of work, but he couldn't have been more flexible than 2022. On Christmas Day, he broke his hand while playing for new club Toyota Verblitz. Launchbury is hoping for better luck this year. The aim is to return to Test rugby and a spot in new England head coach Steve Borthwick's squad for the World Cup.

BYWTER ALEX BYWATER (exclusive) inTERVIEW As he walks Sportsmail around his tiny studio apartment on the outskirts of Tokyo via FaceTime and shares what has been a wild year, Jamie Shillcock admits he's not sure how it came to this. With a smile, former Worcester back Shillcock says, 'I can sit next to my bed and my kitchen at the same time.' 'It does the job, but it isn't home.' I'm just lucky I'm not a second row!' In a hurry, Shillcock will not forget 2022. Worcester, his boyhood club, went out of business in the year, sparking an unprecedented financial crisis in English rugby.

Exclusively BY SIMON: After being made redundant by Wasps, England contender Paolo Odogwu has a chance to switch allegiances to Italy. Benneton Treviso is one of a number of European clubs interested in signing the 25-year-old back, according to Sportsmail. Odogwu qualifiers for Italy through his father, and national coach Kieran Crowley has been contacted about the 2023 World Cup.

Deep changes are planned as a result of the financial turmoil that has seen these two clubs go into administration and left them destined for relegation. There is a growing likelihood that the Premiership will be reduced to ten players, and officials are alert that the game's desperate need for change and innovation is on the rise. George, the veteran Saracens, England, and Lions hooker, believes that the powers-that-be off the field must consult with the game's on-field leaders to determine the correct course of action.

Eddie Jones insists that Wasps' financial turmoil will have no effect on England's autumn international plans. With lock Joe Launchbury missing out, Flanker Jack Willis is the only Wasps player in the 36-man squad. Willis could go four weeks without a game before the first Test, but Jones' staff have contingency preparations in place, which could result in the absence of a game.

Worcester is likely to be barred from all sports and possibly go into administration if they do not settle an unpaid tax bill next month. Both clubs could be relegated as punishment in theory. PRL are demanding powers of investigation that they had not had before in the midst of all the uprising.