BRISTOL SCRUM-HALF RANDALL IN MIX TO REPLACE YOUNGS

HARRY RANDALL is among the young contenders vying for a place in England’s starting XV against Italy, but Eddie Jones won’t finalise his selection until after training this morning. Bristol scrum-half Randall was an unused replacement for last Saturday’s shattering defeat by Scotland in the Six Nations opener at Murrayfield. But it is understood the 24-year-old has worked closely with first-choice No 10 Marcus Smith in training, which suggests he could be unleashed in the No9 shirt in Rome on Sunday. That in turn would mean Ben Youngs acting as a replacement on the day he is poised to match Jason Leonard’s record of 114 caps. However, Jones rarely leaves Youngs out of his starting XV when fit and, as was the case last week, the head coach is keeping his options open until as late as possible before confirming his line-up. Once again, many players will be in the dark about their role until shortly before the official announcement at 11.30am. There will have to be a change in the pack, as Northampton flanker Lewis Ludlam — who played well in Edinburgh — is out with a rib injury. One option is to switch Nick Isiekwe to blindside and start with Bath captain Charlie Ewels in the second row alongside Maro Itoje. Another unorthodox fall-back plan would involve somehow accommodating Tom Curry, Sam Simmonds and Alex Dombrandt in the same back row. Two Leicester rookies are thought to be in the mix for a role in the match-day 23 — prop Joe Heyes and Ollie Chessum, who can operate at lock or flanker. The RFU confirmed yesterday that England would resume their traditional end-of-season fixture against the Barbarians, at Twickenham on June 19. Days later, Jones’s squad will fly to Australia, for Tests in Perth (July 2), Brisbane (July 9) and Sydney (July 16). Ireland’s Six Nations title hopes have suffered a potentially devastating setback as captain Johnny Sexton has been ruled out of tomorrow’s momentous encounter with France in Paris. The 36-year-old suffered a minor hamstring injury in training and is expected to be out for up to 10 days. His place at fly-half will be taken by Munster’s Joey Carbery — who will make his first Six Nations start at the age of 26. The visitors will be led by Leinster lock James Ryan. Meanwhile, Six Nations title favourites France have brought flanker Francois Cros and centre Yoram Moefana into their starting XV.