Late call-up for Clarke

Ben Clarke will fly out to South Africa with the England squad

Ben Clarke has been drafted into the England squad for the summer tour of South Africa.

Clarke will travel with the team as cover for Leicester back-row forwards Neil Back and Martin Corry.

The Bath player, who made his Test debut against South Africa eight years ago and has so far won 40 caps, will link up with the England squad at Twickenham on Wednesday, before flying out to Johannesburg.

Back suffered a knee injury during Leicester's 85-10 defeat against the Barbarians at Twickenham last Sunday.

But both he and Corry, who has a shoulder problem, will go to South Africa, with Clarke providing cover.

Clarke is in his second spell with Bath, after leaving the recreation ground to spearhead professional rugby's revolution at Richmond.

However, when Richmond's professional section folded last summer, Clarke was quickly on his way back to Bath.

And he played an instrumental role in Bath's impressive finish to the Premiership campaign, which saw the West Country outfit lose only one match between late December and mid May.

They finished the league season as runners up behind Leicester, Clarke's experience proving to be a key factor.