Six Nations 2018: Mike Brown, Chris Robshaw and Maro Itoje make 'miracle' recoveries ahead of Italy opener
Brown looked to be struggling with blurred vision but has proven his fitness ahead of this weekend's trip to Rome along with Robshaw and Itoje
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Your support makes all the difference.Eddie Jones has a selection dilemma on his hands ahead of the Six Nations opener against Italy this Sunday after Mike Brown, Chris Robshaw and Maro Itoje made “miracle” recoveries from injury to make themselves available for England.
The biggest concern was for Brown, given that the Harlequins full-back had not trained since suffering a bang to the head in training and experiencing blurred vision for a number of days after. His absence would have almost-certainly resulted in British and Irish Lions wing Anthony Watson moving to cover the vacant 15 shirt, but Jones confirmed on Tuesday that Brown has been passed fit for the Rome encounter and could still feature alongside Robshaw and Itoje.
"We've had some miracles,” Jones said. “There have been some great recoveries because of the fantastic work from the medical and strength and conditioning staff.
"All of them [Robshaw, Itoje, Brown] have returned. We did some stuff yesterday [Monday] and they all came through really well."
Robshaw has recovered from a back strain while Itoje had been laid low with a minor hip problem, but both are likely to feature against the Italians, which while it gives Jones a selection headache, it will be a welcome dilemma that eases his injury concerns.
Heading into the week, Jones had 18 players either ruled out or doubtful for the opening Six Nations clash. One player who looks to have been added to that list this week is Bath back-row Zach Mercer, with the 20-year-old unlikely to feature after suffering a viral infection this week, leaving the door open for Sam Simmonds to start at No 8 as both Billy Vunipola and Nathan Hughes are injured.
"Mercer is doing okay but he's still got a lot of work to do. Physically he's got a lot of work to do," Jones added. "You put him next to James Haskell and you can see the physical work he's got to do to be a Test player.
"He has other attributes and he's doing well, but he's got to get stronger. We play a very physical game and you need physical strength to play it well."
With Itoje fit to resume training, Jones will have a decision to make in how he balances his second and back rows. In the past, the Australian has deployed one of Itoje and Courtney Lawes at blindside flanker and moved Robshaw to openside, while 2016 saw him stick with the latter at No 6 and keep Itoje in the second-row.
The smart money would be on Jones going with the system that he utilised in last November’s autumn internationals and playing Itoje in the back-row, but the return to fitness of Bath’s Sam Underhill suddenly leaves Jones having to choose between him and Robshaw, should he stick with the triple-whammy of locks with Joe Launchbury and Lawes in the engine room.
If fit, Itoje is almost certain to start such is his importance to the England team, but it’s easy to forget that the Saracens forward only made his debut in Rome two years ago, such has been his meteoric rise.
"Maro has come on exceptionally well. He's played for the Lions and been part of a side that drew the series with New Zealand," Jones said of Itoje. "He's won two Six Nations titles. For a young guy he's been in successful teams - plus he's had a lot of club success too.
"His maturity is the thing that impresses me the most. He wants to take more responsibility within the team. He's been absolutely outstanding.”
That praise is not to say that 23-year-old Itoje is the finished article just yet though. Jones was willing to leave him out of the starting line-up during the autumn internationals because he was concerned with his fitness levels, and there is another area of his game that the head coach is keen to see a big improvement in.
"He can get a lot better. There's at least one area of his game that he can significantly improve - his ball-carrying,” Jones explained. “He's working on that pretty hard.
"He can be a much more effective attacker and he's working on that at the moment with (forwards coach) Steve Borthwick. He's doing some great work with him and he's certainly moving in the right direction."
Jones will have an extra day to name his side, with the England squad due to be announced on Friday before they fly to Italy the following day to finalise preparations for the Sunday encounter.
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