Genge 'fully at it' as England assistant gives verdict on Vunipola replacement options

Ellis Genge took a full part in England training on Friday to ease fears over his availability for the Guinness Six Nations title clash with Wales on February 23.

Genge, the Leicester prop, was forced to withdraw from a session at the squad’s London camp on Thursday because of an ankle injury but has since made a rapid recovery.

“Ellis went fully at it today (Friday) – live set piece, live scrums. He trained and did the whole session,” assistant coach Neal Hatley said.

“He’s responded unbelievably well to treatment last night and charged through training today.”

Genge’s fitness has taken on greater importance after Mako Vunipola was ruled out of the remainder of the Six Nations because of ankle ligament damage that struck against France last Sunday.

Continue reading below...

Watch: England team train during Six Nations week off.

Vunipola was a marauding presence in the first two rounds of the Championship and his injury has robbed England of their most effective forward.

Into the void created in the number one jersey must step either Genge or Ben Moon, both of whom are Test rookies but have also acquitted themselves well in the international future.

“We saw over the autumn that Moon is a glue player. He does the basics very, very well and he allows the rest of the team to operate around him,” Hatley said.

“His set-piece was very good during the autumn and he defended exceptionally well. We all saw the hit on Duane Vermeulen in the South Africa game.

“Ellis is also very aggressive. He’s an aggressive scrummager. He has a good ball carrying threat and is explosive. He moves off the line quickly.

“What Mako does for this team can’t be understated, but we’re excited about getting a good 80 minutes at loosehead prop against Wales.”

Press Association

You may also like: Ireland hooker Cronin upbeat over Six Nations title chances ahead of Italy test