English rugby
Simpson out of England tour
Scrum.com
May 31, 2010
Wasps' scrumhalf Joe Simpson looks to pass from the base of a ruck, Northampton Saints v London Wasps, Guinness Premiership, Franklin's Gardens, Northampton, England, March 27, 2010
Joe Simpson is out of the England tour to New Zealand and Australia © Getty Images
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Joe Simpson's first senior England tour ended before it began after he was forced to pull out of the trip to Australia and New Zealand with a hamstring problem.

The Wasps scrum-half was injured during his appearance off the bench against the Barbarians yesterday and he has been replaced in England's 44-man squad by London Irish's Paul Hodgson.

Jon Golding and Charlie Hodgson were cleared to board today's flight to Perth after being forced off during the Barbarians game but both will be assessed further on arrival in Australia.

Golding, the Newcastle prop, took a knock to the ribs while Sale fly-half Hodgson left the field with a facial injury.

Paul Hodgson was the main casualty from Martin Johnson's original 44-man squad selection, having appeared off the bench in three of England's Six Nations games.

The Exiles scrum-half was edged out of the original picture by Simpson who, like Danny Care and Ben Youngs, boasts a more potent running game.

But Hodgson will now have a chance to prove Johnson wrong.

England today embarked on a five-match Antipodean trip that includes two Tests against the Wallabies, on June 12 in Perth and June 19 in Sydney.

The tour begins with the first of two midweek fixtures against the Australian Barbarians in Perth a week tomorrow and finishes in Napier, where Johnson's men tackle the New Zealand Maori.

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