England star Maro Itoje a doubt for Ireland match
Maro Itoje is a doubt for England’s crunch Guinness Six Nations clash with Ireland at Twickenham on Saturday after becoming unwell overnight.
Itoje will miss Friday’s captain’s run at the stadium but England are “cautiously optimistic” that he will be available to take on Andy Farrell’s title rivals.
In a second blow to the squad on the eve of a pivotal match, forwards coach Richard Cockerill has tested positive for Covid-19 and is now self-isolating.
England will be hoping that Itoje recovers sufficiently to take his place in the second-row knowing that they cannot afford to lose a player of his calibre if they are to defeat Ireland.
A mainstay of Eddie Jones’ pack, Itoje sets the physical tone for his team, particularly in defence.
At this stage England have opted against calling up any cover in the event Itoje is ruled out, but Joe Launchbury would most likely step up from the bench to fill the void.
Launchbury is still on his comeback from a serious knee injury, however, as he prepares to make his first international appearance since December 2020.
Another option would be to recall Nick Isiekwe from Saracens and slot him straight into the starting XV given he will be more battle-hardened than Launchbury due to his regular involvement in this Six Nations.
Leicester rookie Ollie Chessum is present as a reserve, but picking him on the bench against Ireland might be a gamble Jones is unwilling to take.
Cockerill has been ruled out of involvement in the must-win round four match, the RFU issuing a Friday morning update about the current virus situation in the England camp.
It read: “England coach Richard Cockerill has tested positive for covid. He returned a positive lateral flow test early on Friday morning and immediately went into isolation. A positive PCR result confirmed the result later that morning.
“All of the other England players and staff members have undergone daily lateral flow testing this morning before training, all of which have returned negative results. Cockerill will not be at England’s Guinness Six Nations game against Ireland at Twickenham Stadium tomorrow [Saturday].”
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It’s a good, timely wake up call for NZ Rugby (seem to be a few of them lately!) - sort out the bureaucratic nonsense at board level. We can’t expect to stay the number one option without keeping fans/players engaged. We’ve obviously been bleeding players to league for years but can’t let the floodgates open (although I think this headline is hyperbolic as it’s a result of a recent Warriors pathways system where they are tracking things more closely) Understand the need to focus boys on rugby if they’re at a proud rugby school too, don’t think it’s harsh at all re Barakat in Hamilton. Reward the committed players with squad positions. An elite 1st XV system in NZ has done more for league than they even realise, think it’s good to protect our game further.
Go to commentsDon’t pay a blind bit of notice to Lukie… he likes the sound of his own voice and is always looking for something controversial to say. He has been banging on about Leinster's defensive system all season like he knows something Jacques Nienebar doesn’t. Which is the reason why he didn’t apply for the job obviously
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