England head coach Eddie Jones has instructed captain Owen Farrell to undertake extra tackle practice after his horror tackle against Wasps saw him sent off.
The 28-year-old fly-half, who was handed a five-match ban, was sent off on 61 minutes by referee Christophe Ridley for his challenge on Wasps replacement Charlie Atkinson.
But Jones has revealed that work is being done behind the scenes to ensure his captain, dubbed shoulder by some, avoids further bans in the future.
“Owen’s always working on his tackle technique,” head coach Jones said.
“I went to the gym this (Tuesday) morning and I was walking through before we were going to catch up and he was there doing some extra work with (head of strength and conditioning) Jon Clarke.
“That’s a constant work-on for not only Owen, but a lot of our players. The laws of the high tackle have become increasingly tighter, which is for the welfare of the players and all of our players are conscious of their responsibility.
“Owen and I have ongoing conversations. There’s not a day where we don’t talk, or text each other. And now he’s in camp, it’s face-to-face.
“He’s aware of his responsibilities as England captain – he made a mistake in a game, we’ve moved on from that and now his job’s to be the best England captain he can be. That’s what he’s striving to do.”
England squad to face Barbarians
FORWARDS
Alex Dombrandt, Harlequins*
Tom Dunn, Bath Rugby*
Charlie Ewels, Bath Rugby
Ellis Genge, Leicester Tigers
Jamie George, Saracens
Joe Heyes, Leicester Tigers*
Ted Hill, Worcester Warriors
Maro Itoje, Saracens
Alex Moon, Northampton Saints*
Beno Obano, Bath Rugby*
David Ribbans, Northampton Saints*
Will Stuart, Bath Rugby
Sam Underhill, Bath Rugby
Billy Vunipola, Saracens
Mako Vunipola, Saracens
Mark Wilson, Newcastle Falcons
BACKS
Ali Crossdale, Saracens*
Fraser Dingwall, Northampton Saints*
Owen Farrell, Saracens
Piers Francis, Northampton Saints
George Ford, Leicester Tigers
George Furbank, Northampton Saints
Willi Heinz, Gloucester Rugby
Jonathan Joseph, Bath Rugby
Ollie Lawrence, Worcester Warriors*
Joe Marchant, Harlequins
Jonny May, Gloucester Rugby
Alex Mitchell, Northampton Saints*
Ollie Thorley, Gloucester Rugby*
Anthony Watson, Bath Rugby
Ben Youngs, Leicester Tigers
*denotes uncapped players
LIST | 5 rugby legends sons earmarked for success
RUCK take you through 10 rugby stars’ sons who have been earmarked to follow their father’s’ footsteps.
1. Joseph Robinson
The speedy winger, who was dating Stranger Things star Millie Bobbie Brown until relatively recently, is the son of cross-code rugby star Jason Robinson. Signing a deal with Wigan Warriors, the teenage sensation looks set to follow in his fathers footsteps. His older brother Lewis has already came through the ranks at Wigan and is a Scotland international while