1
Hartley and Daly could potentially face Ireland
By Peter Thompson
Dylan Hartley and Elliot Daly have been passed fit for England's final Six Nations clash with Ireland on Saturday.
Hartley missed the defeat to France last weekend due to a calf injury, but the captain will be available to take on Ireland at Twickenham.
Versatile back Daly, who has been struggling with a foot problem, has also proved his fitness.
England defence coach Paul Gustard said: "Both were part of training today, we were monitoring them for the first couple of days, but they took part today. They're available for selection."
The availability of Hartley and Daly is a welcome boost for Eddie Jones, who lost Nathan Hughes and Courtney Lawes to season-ending injuries in a 22-16 defeat in Paris, a result which saw Ireland crowned champions.
Gustard is in no doubt as to where England have fallen short as they attempt to deny Ireland a Grand Slam following back-to-back losses against Scotland and Les Bleus.
"It's pretty clear isn't it, our breakdown work has not been as effective as we'd like it to be. Ultimately the amount of turnovers and penalties created around that area has cost us," Gustard said.
"Collectively we all take responsibility for it. The breakdown happens more in the game than anything else and therefore it is a responsibility for all of the coaching group, all of the players and we're all part of this and we'll try and make it better and get the right outcome this weekend."
Trending on RugbyPass
2
'Chaos': Lawes sheds light on the social that ended 2 England careers
3
How much Toulon are paying new signing Antoine Frisch
4
It's the same old South African story for the Sharks
5
Latest Comments
Skelton may be brought back for the Wallabies so that would be the only reason that may hinder Wilson. Easily the form, most skilful and game IQ of any Oz 8. Valentini’s best and favourite position is 6, but lineouts may be an issue with Skelton, Valentini and Wilson. Will be interesting what Schmidt goes for but for me Wilson should be picked on form. Schmidt rewards work rate, skill and consistency. All that glitters every so often won’t be in contention. Greely is one of those players that has a knack of making the right decision. A coach is going to love him because he knows week in week out he’s going to get the job done. The second try Greely wasn’t the guy who made the initial break it was Flook, Greely was at the bottom of the ruck when Flook was off along the sideline. Greely got up and made the effort to catch up with play but also read the play nicely and hit the pass from Campbell at pace and then held the pass beautifully to Ryan.
Go to commentsSharks deserved to be far further back by the last quarter. Their tackling was awful, their set pieces were disappointing, their defensive organization was poor (especially on the Kok side of the D line), they kept making unnecessary errors, and they never looked like cracking the Clermont defense during those first 60m. Masuku kept them in touch, with some help from the Clermont generosity on penalty opportunities. Agree with the writer of this article. It was belligerence, and ability to raise their pressure game just enough, that turned the last quarter into a Bok-style shutout. Clermont have a reputation of not playing the full 80m, and there was a bit of that for sure. But, quite often when the intensity of a team drops off in the last quarter credit is due to the opponent for tiring them out. At 60m, with the Kok try, you thought that just maybe the game was on. At 70m, with the Mapimpi contribution, one felt that Clermont were fading, while facing a team that would maintain the pressure game through the final whistle. Good win in the end, but the Sharks are still playing way below their potential. And with their resources, and a coach that has had enough time to figure things out, they are running out of excuses.
Go to comments