CENTRE HENRY SLADE has emerged as a doubt for England’s clash with Ireland in the Six Nations on Saturday in Dublin.
The Exeter man, who impressed in the number 13 shirt against France last weekend, has picked up a leg injury and will not train with England today.
Eddie Jones has called Harlequins centre Joe Marchant into his squad as cover and that could become a permanent change if Slade doesn’t recover.
If Slade is ruled out of the Ireland game, Jones could promote Worcester centre Ollie Lawrence from the bench to start against Ireland.
Saracens’ Elliot Daly, uncapped Wasps man Paolo Odogwu, and Marchant are the other possible options.
England are aiming to finish their Six Nations campaign on a high this weekend after their thrilling win against France last time out. They believe there is more to come from them.
“There’s a good feeling because we feel we performed well, but we also feel like we’re nowhere near our best,” said England skills coach Ed Robinson today. “There’s a real hunger and drive to get better every day and perform to our best.”
Ireland come into the game off the back of a dramatic late win away to Scotland and Robinson said England have seen a shift in the way they play under head coach Andy Farrell and attack specialist Mike Catt.
“They’re starting to find space a bit more in the way that they attack. They’ve been able to maintain the physical part of the game and it seems like they’re being able to attack space with a little bit more freedom, so that’s what we’ve been looking at and what we’ll be trying to stop.
“We know Ireland will be well-prepared and we know they’ll be physical because it’s a massive game. We know both teams and both countries both respect this game.”
