England Lock Courtney Lawes and wing David Strettle were both carried off the pitch at a private inter-squad trial match at Twickenham Stoop ahead of the match against Wales next weekend.

Lawes was taken to hospital after hurting his neck but the 22-year-old was given the all-clear after a precautionary X-ray. He was discharged and will be assessed by medical staff this weekend.

Strettle was also carried off with what appeared to be a leg injury, but despite the slight hiccups England coach Martin Johnson was happy with what he achieved at the home of English club Harlequins.

He said: "Inevitably it was competitive and you wouldn't have it any other way. It was a good end to the week and the boys enjoyed having a run out in a different environment."

Johnson was using the session as preparation for the match against Wales next week but he also took the opportunity to take a closer look at the players that are vying for positions in his final 30-man World Cup squad, so the minor injuries can be understood in light of the fact that the players all felt that they have something to prove.

"To be honest the whole training camp has had that edge that you want from a group of players vying for 30 spots," said Johnson.

The two 20-minute sessions came at the end of the final week of training before the squad start their run-in to next Saturday's Test match against Wales at Twickenham.