England are waiting for confirmation of the fitness of their captain, Steve Borthwick, before their final Six Nations fixture, against France tomorrow evening. A final decision will be made before the squad leave for Paris this afternoon. The decision to retain the Stade Français lock Tom Palmer as cover suggests Borthwick's recovery from an injured left knee is far from guaranteed.
There might seem scant logic in fielding a lame lineout specialist with the title gone and England guaranteed to finish no lower than third but Martin Johnson, having made six changes, is keen to avoid further disruption against a confident French team. At some stage, however, he will have to test an alternative captain and this could be an opportunity to discover how someone like the Harlequins No8 Nick Easter responds to such a challenge.
With England having announced three midweek dates on their summer tour, including a game to celebrate the centenary of Maori rugby in Napier on June 23, opportunities will shortly loom for fringe candidates in a 44-strong squad. Northampton's Chris Ashton, who has scored 19 tries in 25 matches for the Saints this season, is itching to impress on his Test debut after contemplating a return to rugby league last year.
"Last year I was a bit lost. I had been playing in Division One and I couldn't stop myself scoring tries," explained the 22-year-old, who made his international rugby league debut against France in 2005. "I stepped up into the Premiership and was expecting to hit the ground running but that didn't happen. There was a lot of pressure and I hit the floor. It shocked me a bit and knocked me back. At one point I was quite serious [about moving back to league]. We had a few friendlies at the start of this season and I still wasn't getting picked. I thought there was no way back. Thinking back to it now, it probably couldn't have worked out better for me. I had the time to actually figure out this rugby union game and make it work."
France's coach, Marc Lièvremont, says Jonny Wilkinson, who will be on England's bench, could have an impact on tomorrow's game. "We know that if the match is in the balance Wilkinson can come on and that could be decisive," he said. His captain, Thierry Dusautoir, is urging his side not to go into their shells with a grand slam beckoning. "The greatest mistake we could make is to doubt everything we have achieved so far. The English expect one thing: that we ask ourselves too many questions."
Sale are staging their rearranged Premiership game against Wasps at Edgeley Park tonight, desperate for a win to ease their relegation concerns. Kingsley Jones, the Sharks' director of rugby, is relieved to have the services of the fly-half Charlie Hodgson, who was summoned to England squad training as cover earlier in the week but is not needed for Paris.
"I think the key against Wasps is for us to have a very good kicking strategy," said Jones. "To be without Charlie would have been a major blow."
