Lawrence Dallaglio says Marcus Smith and Courtney Lawes are two major reasons England should not rush Owen Farrell back for the Six Nations.
Dallaglio describes Farrell, who is captain and has 100 international caps, as an “absolute monster of a player”.
But the Saracens star has not played since November due to ankle surgery and in his absence Smith has run the show and Lawes worn the armband with ease.
Dallaglio said: “Having someone of Owen’s experience is fantastic and he will undoubtedly come back into the mix.
“But I think the focus should be on him getting fit, getting back in the Saracens team, step by step, rather than people thinking straight away about him and the England captaincy.
“Owen is a big part of England going forward. Don’t write him off just yet. He’s an absolute monster of a player and he still has a huge part to play in England’s team going forward.
“But no-one needs to put any pressure on him, least of all Eddie Jones. Let’s see how things unfold.”
Jones names his squad for the tournament on Tuesday, five days before Farrell, 30, is scheduled to return to action for his club against London Irish.
As things stand that is the last weekend England stars are available to their clubs before they launch their campaign in Scotland on February 5.
Clearly that would leave a player with just five games under his belt since last summer’s Lions tour, short of rugby and Jones in danger of repeating his mistake of a year ago when he picked a number of Saracens players undercooked through lack of game time.
Dallaglio argues there is no need to take that risk given how Smith and Lawes led England to victory over world champions South Africa last time out.
“I’m loving what Marcus Smith does,” he said. “He lights up the rugby field, makes you want to get out of bed and go watch a game of rugby.
“He’s a breath of fresh air and behind Antoine Dupont probably the best player in the world at the moment.
“Every time Marcus laces his boots things happen around him. He’s very exciting for his club and hopefully will continue to be for his country.”
As for Lawes, former England captain Dallaglio admits his default position is “always” that he would prefer a forward leading the team.
“I’m a big believer in the armband being on someone in the forward pack,” he said. “Because that is where the conversations with the referee take place. I don’t really understand any argument for anywhere else.
“Probably the biggest bonus out of the autumn series was not only the form and fitness but the leadership of Courtney.
“He’s an extraordinary player who you think he’s been playing Test rugby for 13 years. Remarkable really. He seems to still very much be enjoying it. And England were in a good place as a result.”
Sale boss Alex Sanderson reckons the European Cup has been saved by a relaxation in cross-Channel Covid relegations.
Hours after Bath confirmed they would not travel to La Rochelle this weekend unless France’s Covid regulations were loosened, Sanderson voiced his belief that they would be.
Sale play in Clermont on Sunday and, in common with other French-bound clubs, were initially faced with having to test for 48 hours in-country.
But Sharks’ director of rugby declared: “It’s all positive, we’re going. That is what I’ve been informed.
“From my understanding, we don’t have to stay the 48 hours or PCR test which was the worry because people would probably have got trapped in France.
“On the back of all the communication we’ve had, we are very positive that it’s going to happen and have chartered a plane and sorted the hotel.”
A tournament spokesman was unable to confirm that a solution had been found, saying discussions with the Ligue Nationale de Rugby and French government were “ongoing”.
