ASHTON IS SET TO PLAY AS NOWELL DROPS TO THE BENCH
EDDIE JONES was last night poised to make a change to the England team who claimed an epic victory over Ireland last weekend by changing wingers for the clash with France. Exeter’s Jack Nowell is set to be demoted to the bench when the head coach names his line-up this morning for Sunday’s Guinness Six Nations encounter at Twickenham. The most logical scenario is that Chris Ashton will replace Nowell in the No 14 shirt, although giant Bath rookie Joe Cokanasiga has also been kept in the squad and is available after recovering from a knee injury. England trained against Bristol at their Surrey HQ yesterday and in one catching drill, Cokanasiga
left attack coach Scott Wisemantel in a heap on the floor. The Australian joked: ‘He has just annihilated me. He crushed me like a Coke can!’ Manu Tuilagi is a fearsome figure, but even he would not fancy getting in Cokanasiga’s way. ‘I don’t want to play against him, that’s for sure,’ he said. But Ashton was a replacement in last week’s Ireland win and is far more experienced. The 31-year-old Sale wing has resurrected his international career after a four-year hiatus and in November, he marked his first Test since 2014 with a try against the All Blacks. Courtney Lawes is expected to play at lock in place of the injured Maro Itoje. The hard-hitting Northampton forward made a powerful impact off the bench in Dublin. France will today recall their massive centre Mathieu Bastareaud, as a direct response to the destructive midfield threat posed by Tuilagi. The 30-year-old is due to be named at No 13 by head coach Jacques Brunel, but he will operate at inside centre, in a heavy-duty head-to-head with Tuilagi. Both men weigh in excess of 18 stone.