Six Nations 2018: England captain Dylan Hartley a doubt for France game

Last updated on 6 March 2018.From the section Rugby Union366

Six Nations: France v England
Venue: Stade de France, Paris Date: Saturday, 10 March Kick-off: 16:45 GMT
Coverage: Live on BBC One and BBC Radio 5 live, plus live text commentary on BBC Sport website and app.

England captain Dylan Hartley is a doubt for Saturday's Six Nations game against France in Paris, while wing Jack Nowell has been ruled out for the rest of the championship.

Hooker Hartley, 31, has tightness in his calf and will be monitored before Thursday's team announcement.

Exeter's Nowell rolled an ankle injury in training and will play no further part in the tournament.

Bath flanker Sam Underhill has also been ruled out of the France game.

The 21-year-old sustained a toe injury in training but could return for England's final game against Ireland.

Nowell, 24, and Underhill have both featured off the bench in all three of England's matches so far in the championship, but have now returned to their clubs.

According to England forwards coach Steve Borthwick, Northampton's Hartley and Exeter prop Harry Williams, 26, have reported muscle tightness, but at this stage both are expected to be fit.

"Dylan trained fully yesterday and just had a bit of tightness afterwards. There will be ongoing assessment on a daily basis," Borthwick told BBC 5 live.

Luke Cowan-Dickie has been called up as "precautionary cover" for Hartley, while Kyle Sinckler is in camp as back-up to Williams.

If Hartley is unable to recover then Jamie George is in line to start in Paris, with Owen Farrell taking over the captaincy.

Sam Simmonds will come back into contention after returning from injury, while experienced flanker James Haskell is also set to be included in the matchday 23.

Defending champions England are currently second in the table behind Ireland, having lost to Scotland at Murrayfield in their last outing.

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@11 Achilles

That kind of comment gives English fans a bad name. As an English fan myself IMHO Nigel Owens had a good game. Scotland were better on the day... end of...move on...
@11

Jesus Achilles are you STILL banging that drum... Give it a rest. No one likes you or your dim inane comments...
@11 Proper rugby fan aren't you. Unlike the many humorous and good natured fans it has been my pleasure to enjoy a post match pint or two with over the years at many grounds.
I think Jamie George is the better player and should be first choice.... good luck in Paris I think you guys will be too strong for France as their fitness is shockingly bad..... from a Scot
11. Bit disappointing there. Best ref on planet. Not his fault Eddie picked three slow grizzlies in the back row.
Picking Hartley when Jones got the job was absolutely the right decision as proven by England's results.

However, looking over a year and a half away, Hartley has not improved and his best days are past him. We have to start looking towards the WC with our realistic starters at the tournament. You'd expect Jamie George to be in this position, so Hartley being out may not be a bad thing.
We might actually have our best 2 hookers in the squad for once
11. Achilles
26. Big Mac

Get over it guys, Nigel Owens is one of the best ref's in the world, find another excuse if you feel you have to make excuses

LOL
Potential Grand Slam has gone so why doesn't Eddie try out some new player with one eye on the World Cup ?
It's madness to rely on 3 ageing scrum halves and the back row were awful against Scotland, time to establish 3rd & 4th choice hookers, true open side flankers and please above all else put Watson at 15 for next few games and see if he is a test level full back
As a Welshman, I am a little jealous that England still have title to play for as I love the 6n. Hope England win to set up a cracker against Ireland on st paddy’s day. That is what rugby is all about.....and the 12 pints of Guinness 😬
I think Simmons is a bigger loss than Hartley, Jamie George will do you proud. To all the real England Rugby fans, Good luck in Paris whoever makes the team.

to @11 and all the other pretend ones, can't believe you still haven't managed to get that out of your system yet, GIRUY.
Hartley would be no great loss....
There have now been a few posts about Itoje being over-hyped or not the player he was, like he is past his best. I think his broken jaw and the plate in it might be affecting his performance. I believe he may have driven himself back too early & the injury is still affecting his performance. Prior to the break he was in immense form for Sarries.
Sam Underhill is the biggest loss; needs the game time at international level
@ 112. Ian

You don’t know your rugby mate. Nowell is a much much much better union player than Solomona. His defence is unbelievable. He is making a strong case for starting at 14 and probably should with watson at full back. Union is so much more than what you see with Solomona scoring a few breakaway tries in the premiership. It is about understanding the game, reading your opponents....
is losing hartley a blessing in disguise for the white rose? when you have a captain who doesnt deserve his place and you keep winning it is very difficult to drop them. losing and then having an injury does give steady eddie a chance to try out other hookers without the media backlash. if england lose though, then you have the problem of the calls to bring headcase back and the problems continue.
Steve 171

Who condones that behaviour it was a disgrace ? I am a proud Scotland fan and these guys were moronic and nothing to do with rugby as you know.

BBC news quite disgracefully referred to them as drunken Scottish rugby fans and that was out of order and should be condemned.

Decent England fans have all acknowledged that the best team on the day won; we don’t often beat you !
@11

I do love seeing football fans trying to be rugby fans. Apologies but we don't have petty enduring squabbles. With rugby, you can stand in a pub in Wales with an England shirt on, sure you'll get a few remarks but it's mostly banter, and at the end of the game everyones having pints together.

Merely saying you support the opposite team in football gets your head kicked in.
@285 Capt F

Please don't generalise.
Most of us 'have moved on'.
The vast majority of England supporters have repeatedly congratulated Scotland on a well deserved win......sorry for being 'arrogant'
@11 Achilles you’re an embarrassment to England Rugby fans, pipe down! Scotland beat us fair and square, we were like rabbits in headlights. But, that was one bad game and all good teams have them.
France at the weekend is another day and we can and should beat them easily.
Don’t like to see players injured but if DH is out, might be a chance to move on with OF or JL as captain.
Go Eddie!