Slade doubtful for England’s Irish trip

HENRY Slade is a doubt for the climax to England’s Guinness Six Nations campaign against Ireland on Saturday because of a calf problem.

Slade sustained the injury in training on Monday and a decision on his availability for the round-five clash at the Aviva Stadium is expected today.

The strides taken by England in attack during the last two games have brought out the best in the Exeter Chiefs man, who has forged an improving centre partnership with Owen Farrell.

England have called Harlequins back Joe Marchant into camp as cover for Slade, but if he fails to recover in time then Ollie Lawrence or Paolo Odogwu are most likely to benefit by filling the vacancy in midfield.

“The way Henry works off the ball is second to none. The way he puts himself in a position to attack and defend is brilliant,” said England skills coach Ed Robinson.

“The way he sprints to chase kicks is phenomenal and that is a massive part of his game. He’s a big driver in that for us.

“Joe is a fantastic player because of the way he works on and off the ball. His skill set on the ball and the way he supports are both excellent.”

Lawrence would be the frontrunner to fill the void if Slade is ruled out as he looks to add to the two appearances made during this Six Nations.

The powerful Worcester centre started the opening weekend defeat by Scotland and was not seen again until Saturday’s 23-20 victory over France at Twickenham where he made a nine-minute cameo appearance.

Odogwu was called into a senior England squad for the first time at the start of the Championship but the destructive Wasp outside back has yet to win his first cap.

A leftfield choice to replace Slade would be Elliot Daly, who has made way for Max Malins at full-back but has vast experience at outside centre, most notably for his former club Wasps where he made his name.

However, Daly has only filled the 13 jersey once for Eddie Jones with the majority of his international career taking place at 15 and on the wing.

England rescued their Six Nations from disaster by toppling France in outstanding fashion, showing flair and resilience to dispatch a side who arrived at Twickenham as tournament favourites.

And although there is nothing at stake in Dublin apart from pride, Robinson insists there is a determination to take another step forward.

“There’s a good feeling in camp because we feel like we performed well, but we also feel like we’re nowhere near our best. So there’s a real hunger and drive to get better every day to perform to our best,” Robinson said.

“We got really good go-forward with the forwards against France and we’d just like to be able to go and finish a few more of the opportunities off.”

JONATHAN Humphreys believes Wales will face “one of the best teams in the world” when they target Guinness Six Nations title and Grand Slam glory on Saturday, writes ANDREW BALDOCK.

Wales tackle France in Paris, where victory would give them a sixth Six Nations crown and fifth tournament clean sweep.

They head to the French capital having won there on three of their last four visits in the competition, but Wales assistant coach Humphreys is braced for a ferocious challenge.

And he does not subscribe to any theory that France’s 23-20 defeat against England, which ended their own Grand Slam hopes, will affect Les Bleus’ mindset.

“What you find in all these games is they are won and lost on such fine margins, and that game was like that,” Humphreys said.

“I thought England were physical, as we expected them to be, but France are still incredibly dangerous.

“A couple of decisions, and you could argue they would have won that game. Nothing has changed in terms of our perception of France.

“They still have a hell of a lot to play for, and the DNA of the team does not change.

“We believe we are going up against one of the best teams in the world, and that we are going to have to be at our very, very best to get what we want from the weekend.”

Wales lost twice to France last year, and Wales forwards specialist Humphreys added: “(They are) the most physical team that we are going to play against, the biggest pack we are going to play against. They are bigger than South Africa.

“Collisions are going to be massive in this game. I keep on saying it, but to get what we want out of this game, we are going to have to be very clinical.

“There is obviously excitement. Games don’t come along like this very often, and we are looking forward to going out there and having a crack at an extremely good team.”

Wales have matched their Six Nations-best for one season of 17 tries.