England star Kyle Sinckler buries hatchet with Luke Cowan-Dickie after claiming team-mate could have ended his career

KYLE SINCKLER buried the hatchet with Luke Cowan-Dickie after claiming his England teammate could have ended his career.

Sinckler missed Saturday's Six Nations defeat to Scotland as he was banned for swearing at a referee following a tackle from hooker Cowan-Dickie.

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The incident happened in last month's Premiership match between Bristol and Exeter.

Bears prop Sinckler asked ref Karl Dickson ‘Are you f***ing serious?’ after he ruled there was no foul play by Cowan-Dickie.

But he is back to face Italy, alongside LCD, having argued at his disciplinary hearing ‘the tackle potentially could have broken his leg’.

Sinckler's lawyer said: "His whole career flashed in front of him. He spoke of his pride in his England and Lions caps.

"As soon as he hit the floor, his concern was for his left leg.

"He was in shock after a tackle of that nature by someone he considered to be a good friend.

"The Exeter players were laughing, saying things to the effect of 'Stop being a pussy'.

"He said to the referee the Exeter 2 could have broken his leg."

So when the pair returned to camp ahead of the Six Nations, they got together to make sure there was no beef.

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Chiefs star Cowan- Dickie, 27, said: "All is good, mate. It is all fun and jokes. I have plenty of friends in other teams and Kyle is a good mate.

"I have played with him since I was about 15, so I've known him for a while. We had a bit of a chuckle when we got into camp but it is all good."

LCD also reckons Sinckler's return for Italy's visit to Twickenham on Saturday has fired-up the squad.

He added: "Sincks makes the group laugh and is a good personality. He wants to win all the time and that definitely helps."

Meanwhile, Mako Vunipola has revealed he will give his baby brother Billy, 28, a poke to try to get him to recapture his form after he shouldered some of the blame for last week's defeat.

Vunipola Sr, 30, said: "The less Billy thinks, then the more he goes out there and is just free to play his normal game.

"He is a big player for us and he gives us a lot — not just on the field but off it, too."