Dylan Hartley a doubt for England's game with France as Jack Nowell is ruled out for the championship

Elliot Daly could make his international return this weekend after injury

Tuesday 06 March 2018 14:09 GMT

Hartley will be monitored everyday with the injury (Getty)

Concerns have been raised about the availability of England captain Dylan Hartley after he suffered a leg injury ahead of Saturday’s Six Nations clash with France in Paris.

Jack Nowell and Sam Underhill were ruled out of the game by forwards coach Steve Borthwick, who revealed Hartley is struggling with muscle tightness, as Eddie Jones named his 27-man squad for the trip to France.

The Northampton hooker will be monitored daily ahead of Thursday’s team announcement.

Six Nations team of the week

Show all 15

1/15Six Nations team of the week

Six Nations team of the week

1. Cian Healy (Ireland)

The powerhouse loosehead has regained his place in the Irish front-row and went about doing as much damage on the Welsh defence as possible. His scrummaging stood up well against the equally-strong Samson Lee, but it was his work with the ball – including his try – that really stood out.

AFP/Getty Images

Six Nations team of the week

2. Stuart McInally (Scotland)

Made an incisive run through the English defence that helped set up Sean Maitland’s try, and reliable at the lineout in all bar one of his throws. A good performance that helped give Scotland the base for their famous victory.

Getty Images

Six Nations team of the week

3. Simon Berghan (Scotland)

Another brilliant display from the tighthead who is really coming on as an international Test player. His scrum battle with Mako Vunipola was an intriguing one to watch with neither giving away an inch, and he secured one important turnover in the second half to stem an English attack.

AFP/Getty Images

Six Nations team of the week

4. James Ryan (Ireland)

The Leinster lock returns to The Independent’s team of the weekend after missing the second round with injury, and he really is proving himself to be quite the young player at this level. A great showing across the park, particularly with his ball carrying, and he is also a very handy option in the lineout.

Getty Images

Six Nations team of the week

5. Jonny Gray (Scotland)

Bounced back well from an early missed tackle on Nathan Hughes, and led the Scottish defensive effort as he got through a ridiculous amount of work, particularly in the second half.

AFP/Getty Images

Six Nations team of the week

6. Sebastian Negri (Italy)

A standout performance in defeat should be heralded as the Treviso back-row caught the eye with three defence-splitting runs against France. Italy may fear the end of Sergio Parisse’s international career, but in Negri they have a similar figure that can lift his teammates by his own performance. Extremely harsh on Scotland captain John Barclay for his defensive work rate and breakdown prowess, but Negri just couldn’t be left out.

AFP/Getty Images

Six Nations team of the week

7. Hamish Watson (Scotland)

Rampant at the breakdown as he led the Scottish turnovers, securing two penalties from English ball and proving a thorn in the side of Eddie Jones throughout Saturday afternoon. Quickly emerging as one of the breakdown masters in European rugby.

Action Plus via Getty Images

Six Nations team of the week

8. Ryan Wilson (Scotland)

Not as prominent as his back-row colleagues but he contributed enormously by often being the main support runner that helped Scotland maintain possession. Just shaded the battle with Nathan Hughes as the England No 8 was at fault for Huw Jones’ second try, and holds off a good showing from Ireland’s CJ Stander.

Getty Images

Six Nations team of the week

9. Gareth Davies (Wales)

Another player who starred in defeat. The Scarlets scrum-half showed there is life after Rhys Webb as he smartly collected a loose pass, drifted laterally before cutting a smart line to run straight through the Irish defence and score his side’s first try. A real attacking livewire that can’t be left alone for a minute.

Getty Images

Six Nations team of the week

10. Finn Russell (Scotland)

Wrote a remarkable story of redemption at Murrayfield as he silenced his critics to mastermind Scotland’s historic victory over England. Put the chip through for Jones’ first try, played an inch-perfect pass to Jones that triggered the whole move for Sean Maitland’s score – as well as throwing the flat ball to the Saracens wing – and jinked past the would-be tacklers before unleashing Jones for the third try. A brilliant showing.

AFP/Getty Images

Six Nations team of the week

11. Jacob Stockdale (Ireland)

Seven tries in seven Tests is not a bad start to any international career, and the Ulster wing is showing no signs of letting up his wonderful rate of scoring after bagging two more tries against Wales.

Getty Images

Six Nations team of the week

12. Peter Horne (Scotland)

A commanding display in giving Russell and outlet if the pressure came on, and he also showed off his ability to kick when pinning England back with delicate chips in behind. His passing was reliable throughout the Calcutta Cup clash, and despite Owen Farrell scoring all of England’s 13 points, it was Horne who won the battle of the 12s.

Getty Images

Six Nations team of the week

13. Huw Jones ( Scotland)

Russell may have got the man of the match award but it was Jones who not so much as floored England as knocked them out cold. His early try stunned the reigning champions and brought Murrayfield to life, and his second was a brilliant finish that showed off his power and pace that also had an echo of Brian O’Driscoll’s 2001 Lions score about it. Simply an outstanding player and a delight to watch.

AFP/Getty Images

Six Nations team of the week

14. Keith Earls (Ireland)

Mr Reliable for Ireland is quickly becoming Mr Highlight Ree. Earls has always been known as a workhorse player but he has added something new to his game this Six Nations that has enabled him to have a devastating impact on games. Two defence-busting runs down the right flank both led to points for the Irish.

Getty Images

Six Nations team of the week

15. Stuart Hogg (Scotland)

Always a threat when he gets the ball in hand and England allowed him the space that he needed to pin his ears. Combined well with Maitland and Tommy Seymour, and Scotland seemed to learn from not overusing him at first receiver and leave him out in space where he can have a much bigger impact. Also took on a responsibility with kicking, even if he did miss a long penalty effort from halfway.

Getty Images

“Dylan trained yesterday (Monday) and felt a bit of tightness afterwards,” Borthwick said. “He reported that and the decision of the medical team is to monitor it daily.

“It's meant that Luke Cowan-Dickie was called up to the squad yesterday and trained fully this morning as cover.

“We have the two hookers in Dylan and Jamie and we need the third hooker as cover. And Kyle Sinckler is here as a tighthead prop as well as those are specialist positions so you need specialist cover.”

Nowell’s ankle injury keeps him out of the squad after he missed training on Tuesday, while Underhill has a toe complaint he picked up in practice.

Nowell is a regular impact substitute brought on by Eddie Jones to change the game in the late moments where opponents start to tire, a role he has fulfilled in all three of England’s games so far in the championship.

Nowell will miss the rest of the tournament (Getty)

The Exeter flyer will miss the rest of the Six Nations and as a result Elliot Daly is expected to feature at some part in Saturday's game having been named in Jones' 27-man squad.

“Jack Nowell rolled his ankle in training, the same ankle that he injured earlier on this season. He has returned to Exeter,” Borthwick added. “It happened at the weekend and we did a further investigation late yesterday and a decision was made then.

"Sam took a knock to his big toe after someone trod on it. It's flared up so he's not in contention against France. He went back to his club this morning and that decision was made late last night as well after an investigation.

“We want them to recover from their injuries as quickly as possible. It's unlikely that Jack will be fit for Ireland, but we hope Sam's injury will calm down quickly. But, as we've seen in the past, whenever there are injuries there are opportunities and you can see players return quickly from injury like Sam Simmonds.”

Denny Solomona, Kyle Sinckler and Luke Cowan-Dickie have also been named in Jones' squad.

27-man squad:

Backs

Mike Brown (Harlequins)

Danny Care (Harlequins)

Elliot Daly (Wasps)

Owen Farrell (Saracens)

George Ford (Leicester Tigers)

Jonathan Joseph (Bath Rugby)

Jonny May (Leicester Tigers)

Denny Solomona (Sale Sharks)

Ben Te’o (Worcester Warriors)

Anthony Watson (Bath Rugby)

Richard Wigglesworth (Saracens)

Forwards

Dan Cole (Leicester Tigers)

Luke Cowan-Dickie (Exeter Chiefs)

Jamie George (Saracens)

Dylan Hartley (Northampton Saints)

James Haskell (Wasps)

Nathan Hughes (Wasps)

Maro Itoje (Saracens)

George Kruis (Saracens)

Courtney Lawes (Northampton Saints)

Joe Launchbury (Wasps)

Joe Marler (Harlequins)

Chris Robshaw (Harlequins)

Sam Simmonds (Exeter Chiefs)

Kyle Sinckler (Harlequins)

Mako Vunipola (Saracens)

Harry Williams (Exeter Chiefs)

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies