"Long rehab" - Saracens issue injury update on Owen Farrell

Saracens confirmed in a statement that Farrell is ‘progressing with his rehab after ankle surgery and is on track to return in the 8-10 week timespan originally communicated.’

England head coach Eddie Jones is confident he will come back stronger, saying in January that: “Owen’s one of the most resilient and driven players that I know.

"He’s got to take his medicine now, which is have the operation, rehab and go through all that pain. But he wants to be the best player he can be.”

Ford's place in the squad has to be questioned with the 2022 Six Nations so far being a complete waste of the talented playmakers time. Surely, he'd rather be playing for Leicester right now?

His two unimpressive cameo appearances against Scotland and Italy would have been better served giving a player with significant potential, somebody like Orlando Bailey, Fin Smith or Jacob Umaga, an opportunity to gain valuable experience at the highest level.

It's time for Jones to move on from his Ford and Owen Farrell obsessions and back England's next generation of stars heading into the 2023 Rugby World Cup.

Worcester playmaker Fin is what his name suggests; an exciting teenage blend of Finn Russell and Marcus Smith with a temperament far beyond his tender years

Replacement: Finn Smith (Worcester Warriors)

Jones is a big fan of Marchant, and as well as he played against South Africa in the Autumn, his appearances have not been good enough in the opening two rounds. When you think about it, if you can't impress against Italy in a 33-0 win, your place must be questioned, shouldn't it?

Harlequins teammate, Luke Northmore, has been constantly the far better player for the club this season and has an almost telepathic working relationship with fly-half Marcus Smith. It seems Jones seems set on bringing Manu Tuilagi straight back into the fold without giving Northmore or Mark Atkinson an opportunity. Very poor.

Replacement: Luke Northmore (Harlequins)

It would be unfair to say he wasn't pretty decent against Italy, but his performance against Scotland was pretty disastrous. Lots of fans believe he's only in the squad because he can smash over a penalty from halfway, and although that may seem slightly harsh, there is probably something in that.

It feels as if speedsters Adam Radwan and Ollie Hassell-Collins have been called up just to hold the tackle bags when fans want to see these exciting speedsters given the opportunity to rip it up out wide at Twickenham.

Replacement: Ollie Hassell-Collins (London irish)