Everyone talks a good game in the buildup to a Six Nations Championship but spirits are unusually high in England’s Bagshot base. Following Eddie Jones’s well-publicised bathroom tumble last week, the squad marked their head coach’s 57th birthday on Monday by buying him a non-slip bath mat. Meanwhile their own injury headaches are also easing in the runup to the opening Test against France at Twickenham on Saturday.
Joe Marler, James Haskell and George Kruis are all now back in full training and theoretically available for the France game, although it remains to be seen how many of them make the actual starting XV. With Dylan Hartley, the captain, having played just six minutes for Northampton since early December and Kruis, Marler and Haskell also short of recent club rugby, there is a slight risk of England’s pack going in a little underdone.
With the Vunipola brothers and Chris Robshaw definitely missing, it makes it even more important for Jones to rustle up some alternative ball-carriers if the defending champions wish to start their 2017 campaign strongly.
There is, accordingly, a good case for choosing a brace of mobile lock forwards in Courtney Lawes and Joe Launchbury, switching Maro Itoje to the blindside flank and inviting Kruis to make his comeback off the bench.
This would also have the handy benefit of providing England with an enviable range of lineout options, with Tom Wood and Nathan Hughes also more than comfortable in the air. Either way, Lawes insists England will not be short of oomph despite Billy Vunipola’s absence at No8. “Underpowered? In what way? We’ve got so many good players,” Lawes said.
“Obviously a couple are out but the strength is depth has always been evident. I think the fans were worried before the autumn that George Kruis and Maro Itoje weren’t fit. But the strength in depth in the Premiership and England nowadays means that if someone gets struck down then someone will come in and fill that role. We’ve got loads of good ball-carriers in the team. Mako and Billy are two of the best in the world so you are always going to miss them. But there are players, myself included, who can step up and fill those boots in this Six Nations.”
Lawes has a track record of making life difficult for unsuspecting French half‑backs, not least when he flattened the fly-half Jules Plisson on Les Bleus’ last trip to Twickenham two years ago. It was a legal, if brutal, hit which looked frightening when replayed on the big screen in slow motion but Lawes, back to full fitness after recovering from knee problems, is unconcerned by the stricter sanctions set to be given to players guilty of dangerous or reckless tackles.
“As long as you’re committed as I was then and you’re tackling legally then you are OK,” he said. “I want to be a big physical player for England. I will aim to go out there and make my tackles before I think of anything else.”
Given Marler was found to have a broken bone in his leg less than a month ago, the Harlequins loosehead prop has done extraordinarily well to recover so quickly, while the foot soreness that stopped Haskell being fully involved in the training camp in Portugal last week appears to have improved. Only Jack Clifford, still recovering from a chest injury, and Bath’s Charlie Ewels (concussion) are unlikely to train at full intensity on Tuesday.
Deploying Itoje in the back-row, meanwhile, seems a case of when rather than if as England await opponents who have not won at Twickenham in the Six Nations for 12 years.
“There’s versatility there which really helps,” the England forwards coach Steve Borthwick said. “With the energy he brings he’ll play his game wherever you put him on the field. There’s great competition within the back five. We’re watching them all closely then Eddie will pick the best side to play France this weekend.”
