England have suffered a major blow in the buildup to their Six Nations grand slam eliminator against Wales on Saturday after Chris Ashton was ruled out with a calf strain. Ashton suffered the injury during a training session at Twickenham on Friday and after further assessment over the weekend he was left out of the 33-man squad which convened at England’s Bagshot base on Sunday night.
England are confident Ashton will be fit to face Italy on 9 March but his absence against Wales is a setback for Eddie Jones, who is already without Mako Vunipola for the trip to Cardiff. Maro Itoje will continue his rehabilitation from a knee injury with England this week but he was not named as part of the squad and as a result is not in contention to face Wales. Dylan Hartley, meanwhile, will stay with Northampton, meaning he too will miss Saturday’s match.
With Ashton unavailable Jack Nowell now appears in line to start against Wales – he may well have done so anyway considering he was preferred to Ashton against Ireland – but Joe Cokanasiga is another option after he made a try-scoring return to action for Bath on Saturday following 10 weeks out with a knee injury. The Gloucester wing Ollie Thorley is also part of the squad but he is still awaiting a Test debut.
For Ashton it is more bad luck after a calf injury cut short his autumn campaign. He has won five caps since his return from France to Sale Sharks last summer, scoring one try against New Zealand, but the back three is arguably the most hotly contested area of Jones’s squad with Anthony Watson still to return from a long-term achilles injury to press his World Cup claims. Ashton was handed a first Six Nations start for six years in the 44-8 victory over France last Sunday on what Jones described as a “gut feeling” before being replaced by Nowell after 51 minutes.
Cokanasiga, meanwhile, believes his injury was the best thing that could have happened after scoring two tries in his first two England matches against Japan and Australia in November. The 21-year-old suffered knee ligament damage on his return for Bath in early December and had not played since until his club’s 30-13 win over Newcastle on Saturday.
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“I was blowing at the end of the game but I am confident with the knee and ready for the challenge ahead,” said Cokanasiga. “Eddie spoke to me about getting some game time and being available for selection against Wales. I would like to get a shot against Wales but this is a big year and there are plenty of opportunities. The injury was one of the best things that could have happened to me because I could easily have become complacent after the autumn and relaxed. Now I have to fight to get my place back and there is no danger of complacency.”
Jones has a 100% record against Wales since taking over as England’s head coach with four wins from four but Saturday will mark his first meeting with Warren Gatland in Cardiff after Rob Howley took charge two years ago with the New Zealander on a sabbatical to prepare for the 2017 Lions tour. That match was settled by Elliot Daly’s 75th-minute try while last year’s defining moment was Sam Underhill’s last-ditch tackle to deny Scott Williams in England’s 12-6 triumph.
“A lot of internationals come down to one or two moments in the game,” said Daly. “It is how you come through those moments. If it is a tackle in the corner, then you have got to make it. If it’s an attacking opportunity that might not look like it’s on, then it presents itself, you have got to take that opportunity as well. I was lucky enough to be on the end of two good passes. I just tried to get back as quickly as possible from the kick, and I realised George [Ford] was on his bike straight away, and I could see Owen [Farrell] there as well. So I knew a couple of passes were on the cards, and it was just nice that two pretty world-class passes were put in front of me.”
With Vunipola sidelined, Alec Hepburn has been called in as loosehead cover with either Ellis Genge or Ben Moon expected to start against Wales. Charlie Ewels is also added, taking the place of Nick Isiekwe, who was part of the wider squad for the France match.
