Jones stands by Farrell after defeat

EDDIE Jones has no intention of dropping Owen Farrell on the strength of Saturday’s defeat by Scotland but insists England’s captain is not immune from demotion, writes the Press Association’s Duncan Bech.

Farrell’s below-par performance in the Calcutta Cup debacle at Twickenham has led to scrutiny over his place amid concern that his influence on the field has declined due to a slide in form.

Operating behind an outmuscled pack, the Saracens fly-half turned down overlaps in favour of kicking the ball and was powerless to inspire the champions as they floundered in a one-sided start to the Guinness Six Nations.

Jones, however, has made it clear that Farrell will remain in the starting XV for Saturday’s visit of Italy.

When asked if he would drop his skipper, England’s head coach said: “Every player’s up for selection. It’s all dependant on form - you look at historical form, present form and you have to make the right decisions for the team and Owen’s no different to any other player.

“Owen was disappointed with his performance against Scotland, like a number of players and like I was in my own performance and we’re all working to improve.

“Owen’s been a highly-consistent, highly-successful player for us. Like a number of players on Saturday, he wasn’t at his best. I know there’s a bandwagon.

“He’s an outstanding player and, like any outstanding player, they can have a game where they’re not at their best. Is that a reason to drop the player? I wouldn’t think so.

“We are always trying to make the right assessment. We had to go through a difficult stage with (former captain) Dylan Hartley when his form was tailing off.

“We gave Dylan an amount of time to pick up his form but, due to injury and a number of other circumstances, it just wasn’t right for the team.

“It’s the same for anyone who’s the captain of the side, they’ve got to keep performing at a high level.

“But having one game where they’re not at the level expected is not a reason to start speculating on whether he’s going to be dropped or not.”

England have added props Kyle Sinckler of Britol Bears and Mako Vunipola to their 28-man squad at the expense of Harry Williams and Tom West.

Sinckler missed the Scotland defeat due to serving a ban for swearing at a referee, while Vunipola has been out since November with an Achilles injury. Vunipola has fully recovered and will face Italy.

“They’re both exceptional players. Mako is the elder statesman of the side, an experienced player,” Jones said.

“Kyle was dynamic for us during the autumn. It’s good to have those two back.”