Six Nations 2017 team profile: England

Six Nations Team Profile: England

ENGLAND
Head Coach – Eddie Jones

Jones set the bar high in his first calendar year in charge with a first Grand Slam in 13 years, a whitewash against the Wallabies down under and 13 wins on the spin.

It will be hard for the Aussie to repeat such heroics, especially due to the tough trip to Ireland on the final weekend of the Six Nations.


Captain – Dylan Hartley

The combative hooker had lengthy suspensions on his rap-sheet for eye-gouging, biting, punching and elbowing when Eddie Jones named him skipper in December 2015.

However, with Hartley as captain, England won all of their matches in 2016 to climb from eighth to second in the world rankings, claiming a Six Nations Grand Slam and a whitewash series victory against the Wallabies in the process.

The hooker impressively managed to keep his cool all year in the England shirt but let himself down in December when he was sent off for his club side Northampton.


What channel are England on?
Saturday, February 4th: England v France (ITV, 4:50pm kick-off) 
Saturday, February 11th: Wales v England (BBC, 4:50pm) 
Sunday, February 26th: Italy v England (ITV, 3pm)
Saturday, March 11th: England v Scotland (ITV, 4pm) 
Saturday, March 18th: Ireland v England (ITV, 5pm)
For the full Six Nations fixture list, CLICK HERE


Stadium – Twickenham Stadium
As the world’s largest dedicated rugby union stadium, there is no more fitting venue for the reigning Grand Slam champions to defend their title.
Capacity: 81,605
Did you know? The first game played at the ground was between local clubs Harlequins and Richmond in 1909, two years after it was bought by the RFU.
Rugby history It staged the 1991 and 2015 Rugby World Cup final

Key Player – Owen Farrell

2016 will be looked back on as the year that Farrell became undoubtedly the world’s best goalkicker while also making real strides both in attack and defence.

The fly-half/inside-centre tasted club success with Saracens, guiding them to the Premiership title and a first Champions Cup victory, while playing a key role in England’s run to an unbeaten year.

He’s also really grown and matured as a player, improving his defence and discipline.


Rising Star – Maro Itoje

Believe it or not, the imperious Itoje is still only 22-year-old.

To add even more buzz, the lock was given the title of the World Rugby Breakthrough and European Player for the year in 2016, and many are saying he could become England or even British & Irish Lions captain in the near future.


Social Media Favourite 

With England we’d usually point you in the direction of James Haskell or Joe Marler but fellow loosehead Ellis Genge can be quite terrific on the old Twitter.


Record vs
France: Won 56, Lost 39, Drawn 7
Ireland: Won 76, Lost 47, Drawn 8
Italy: Won 22, Lost 0, Drawn 0
Scotland: Won 74, Lost 42, Drawn 18
Wales: Won 60, Lost 57 , Drawn 12

Year-end ranking: 2

England 2017 RBS 6 Nations squad
Forwards
Nathan Catt (Bath Rugby), Jack Clifford (Harlequins), Dan Cole (Leicester Tigers), Charlie Ewels (Bath Rugby), Ellis Genge (Leicester Tigers), Jamie George (Saracens), Teimana Harrison (Northampton Saints), Dylan Hartley (Northampton Saints), James Haskell (Wasps), Nathan Hughes (Wasps), Maro Itoje (Saracens), George Kruis (Saracens), Joe Launchbury (Wasps), Courtney Lawes (Northampton Saints), Joe Marler (Harlequins), Matt Mullan (Wasps), Kyle Sinckler (Harlequins), Tommy Taylor (Wasps), Mike Williams (Leicester Tigers), Tom Wood (Northampton Saints).
Backs
Mike Brown (Harlequins), Danny Care (Harlequins), Elliot Daly (Wasps), Owen Farrell (Saracens), George Ford (Bath Rugby), Jonathan Joseph (Bath Rugby), Alex Lozowski (Saracens), Jonny May (Gloucester Rugby), Jack Nowell (Exeter Chiefs), Henry Slade (Exeter Chiefs), Ben Te’o (Worcester Warriors), Anthony Watson (Bath Rugby), Marland Yarde (Harlequins), Ben Youngs (Leicester Tigers).