England have been handed a significant boost before resuming their Six Nations campaign, with Courtney Lawes available to face Wales next Saturday after recovering from a head injury. Lawes has missed England’s first two matches but is on course to return against Wales and comes into the frame for the captaincy.
Lawes has not played since mid-January while he has progressed through the head injury return to play protocols. He has been largely restricted to training on his own but the England defence coach Anthony Seibold on Friday confirmed that Lawes took a full part in a full-blooded session.
The 32-year-old’s return will be welcomed by Eddie Jones, who switched Maro Itoje to blindside flanker last Sunday against Italy in Lawes’s absence. During the autumn Lawes captained England in victories over Tonga and South Africa and proved a popular leader among the squad. His presence around the camp, despite being unable to fully train, suggests he will resume the role from Tom Curry, who was captain against Scotland and Italy.
Seibold said: “Courtney trained fully today, which is obviously really good news for himself and England. He looked sharp. That was the last box for him to tick. He’s had a very thorough return to play integration and did everything in the session.
“I was super impressed with Courtney in the autumn, which was the first time I’d worked with him. He took over from Owen Farrell as captain when Owen got injured and he did a fantastic job. He leads through his actions. One of the things with Courtney is his ability in defence.
“Everyone can see his athleticism, but what he does off the ball in defence, the little detail around his effort areas, is very high. Defensively he’s a real leader for us. To have him back in the group training raises the standards because it means we’ve got a highly intelligent defensive player who is full of effort.”
England currently sit second in the Six Nations table despite their opening defeat by Scotland and victory over Wales would keep them in contention for the title. Jones has already been boosted by the return to the squad of Manu Tuilagi while Sam Simmonds is set to resume full training on Monday, having sat out this week’s camp to manage an existing hip injury.
