Eddie prays as Hartley, Hughes AND Marler face bans

EDDIE JONES will endure a tense wait tomorrow before discovering if his captain and two other leading players are to miss part of England’s autumn campaign. It would be a disastrous triple whammy. Dylan Hartley (below), Joe Marler and Nathan Hughes will face hearings in London after being cited for foul play. Each man, if found guilty, would receive at least a two-week ban. Any more than that minimum tariff would jeopardise their participation in the Tests against Argentina, Australia and Samoa. That would leave Jones with a major problem. He would need a new captain and hooker, he would have to delve deep into the country’s No 8 stocks — in the absence of the injured Billy Vunipola — and he would face a dilemma over the plan to rest his Test Lions. Hartley’s ‘offence’ appeared to be accidental and most observers concluded the yellow card he received for recklessly swinging his arm into the face of Clermont Auvergne prop Rabah Slimani was sufficient punishment. However, the authorities are in the midst of a crackdown on any contact with the head — and Hartley’s past indiscretions will count against him. Jones is naming his squad for the November series on Thursday. If a harsh judicial verdict means he needs to find a new skipper, it would be a conundrum due to the lack of alternative candidates. Owen Farrell is the obvious one, but he is another of the Lions Test contingent who was supposed to be kept out of the firing line next month. Mike Brown has been vice-captain, while Ben Youngs has led Leicester in the past. Marler has been cited for striking Wasps lock Will Rowlands on the head. In the event he is suspended, Jones will have to weigh up whether to pick Mako Vunipola — rather than resting him as intended — or go with Leicester’s Ellis Genge. Hughes produced a rampaging display against Quins on Sunday but a first-half tackle on Marcus Smith has landed him in trouble. If he is unavailable to England, Jones has a crisis at No 8. Billy Vunipola and Jack Clifford are out, and Exeter’s Sam Simmonds is viewed as an openside contender.