Kruis putting some flesh on bare bones
Neil REPORTS GEORGE KRUIS has told a relieved England he will be fit for the Six Nations kick-off on February 4.
England’s lineout general was rated touch and go for the opening game against France because of the broken cheekbone he suffered on Saracens duty against Newcastle on Christmas Eve.
Initial optimism gave way to concern for Eddie Jones when Kruis missed his club’s bruising Champions Cup tie against Toulon on Saturday.
He has, though, been able to play an active part in England’s warmweather training exercises on the Algarve and yesterday said he is on schedule to return at Twickenham.
“We got a couple of opinions and decided last weekend was too soon – we were pushing, but it was just too soon. It was a four-to-six-week injury and we tried to make it three,” said Kruis.
“This Friday will be four weeks so it’s realistic I’ll be up for that. A week makes a big difference. I haven’t done full contact yet so I’ll build towards that at the end of the week.”
Kruis’s availability gives Jones an extra option for France and the England coach must now decide on the blend he wants from a second row that could also include Courtney Lawes or Joe Launchbury.
Lawes enjoyed a consistent autumn series but Launchbury was also going well until he picked up the first suspension of his career after being cited for careless footwork against Fiji – a ban that opened the way for Kruis’s return.
Maro Itoje, who reprised his mighty all-Saracens second-row combination with Kruis in last season’s Six Nations, would ordinarily come into the equation but he is being earmarked for the No6 jersey in Chris Robshaw’s absence. “He’ll go well. He’s a good player. He’ll adapt to the position,” said Kruis. “He has played well for us there. He has that string to his bow. ”
The one factor that could count against Kruis is his lay-off.
Taken in isolation it might not be an issue – he was up to speed for England pretty much immediately after a longer absence before Christmas – but there may be rust elsewhere in the England pack to account for too.
Joe Marler, if he shakes off a leg injury in time for the France game, will not have played for four weeks, while Dylan Hartley will not have seen competitive action for eight weeks after his sending-off against Leinster.
Having satisfied Jones as to his aerobic fitness, with a 36-minute training session designed to mirror the time the ball is in play in an average Test match, Hartley will be reconfirmed as captain today at the official Six Nations launch. Hartley will arrive as leader of a side who walk with a vastly surer step to 12 months ago.
Back then, England were World Cup flops starting out under a new coach and captain; now they are Grand Slam champions defending their title. “It will definitely be harder – everyone wants to beat the champs so you’ve always got to stay ahead of the curve – but we’re even hungrier now,” said Kruis. “We want to be No 1 in the world and to do that we have to win every game.
“We are fully concentrated on this next game, which is going to be a big battle for us. France like to play with that bit of edge and try to put you on the back foot but we’re pretty confident.”
LONDON WELSH have been thrown out of the Championship and will exist only as an amateur operation from now on.
The RFU expelled them after they failed to pay their creditors following their liquidation on December 23.