The Six Nations is fast approaching but England insist recent injury distractions will not stop them making a forceful start to the tournament next week – even if Eddie Jones will help launch the tournament on Wednesday with a black eye he suffered after falling over in his bathroom.
Dylan Hartley, now free to play again after a six‑week ban, has been confirmed as captain and will resume duties alongside the head coach, Jones, at the tournament launch in London while the lock George Kruis remains adamant that he will be available for selection against France at Twickenham on 4 February.
With the Vunipola brothers Mako and Billy, Chris Robshaw, Manu Tuilagi and, potentially, James Haskell all ruled out by injury for the France game, the sight of Hartley, Kruis and the prop Joe Marler back training with the squad in the Algarve sunshine was both timely and welcome for Jones, despite the trio’s recent lack of competitive rugby.
Hartley’s leadership was a key part of England’s unbeaten year in 2016 while Kruis and Marler, recovering from a broken cheekbone and leg respectively, would both bolster England’s options at the set piece.
Jones will wait until the end of the week before finalising his starting lineup, with the hard-working Kruis still hopeful of making it despite missing the European game against Toulon last weekend.
“It’s in the hands of the medics and how I feel … we were pushing for last weekend but decided it was just too soon,” Kruis said. “It will be four weeks [since the injury] this Friday so it’s realistic I’ll be up for the French game.”
The Saracens forward also said both he and Hartley can make an instant impact against the French despite not having featured for their clubs lately. “Dyls has been able to train fully for six weeks and I have been doing fitness for three weeks. Sometimes you need some fresh players. Owen Farrell was injured for eight weeks in the autumn and played unbelievably well [on his comeback] against Toulon. You take confidence in that.”
Whoever plays, England’s forwards are expecting a significant physical test when they launch their title defence against a France side showing signs of improvement. “It is going to be a big battle for us,” Kruis said. “They have some pretty big, exciting players and they play quite exciting rugby. We’ve been together for a year and a half and other teams think they’ve got a grasp of you, so you’ve always got to stay ahead of the curve. It’ll definitely be harder than last season. Everyone wants to try and beat the champs.”
Kruis also thinks his Saracens team-mate Maro Itoje will “go well” if he starts in the back row in Robshaw’s absence – “He’s a good player, he’ll adapt to the position” – and suggests England are even keener to win the tournament than they were last season.
“We’re hungrier,” the 26-year-old said. “We want to be No1 in the world and to do that we have to win every game.
“Individually, there’s a number of things the boss has said we can get better at and he speaks the truth. We’re a pretty open and honest side about where we need to improve. Our collectiveness as a group is definitely more than the sum of the individuals. That’s quite a big thing for us.”
It is still possible Jones will opt not to rush Kruis straight back into the starting XV and go with a second-row pairing of Joe Launchbury and Courtney Lawes but, either way, Kruis believes England will be positive from the outset.
“Everyone wants the shirt but the No1 cause is England first,” Kruis said. “For me it’s about the players leading it a bit more. Then you get a better grasp of how you want to play and there’s a bit more ownership.”
