England coach Jones casts doubt on Sexton selection

Eddie Jones senses the “hatred” felt towards England from their Six Nations rivals and will allow his players to harness it to their advantage.

The Australian is preparing to take charge of the Red Rose at Twickenham for the first time since his appointment having overseen away victories in Scotland and Italy previously.

“Sexton is an interesting one, they’ve talked about him having whiplash injury which is not a great thing to talk about”, he said.

“If Johnny knows he feels fit then I don’t think he’ll be frustrated in the slightest by it”, added Trimble.

“You always do. I remember at the 2003 World Cup, Jonny Wilkinson was supposed to have a bad right shoulder”, the former Australia coach said.

“I’m not going to talk to the players about things I don’t understand”.

This is a particularly touchy subject for all concerned with Ireland as they dislike suggestions that they are risking the welfare of Sexton, who was stood down for 12 weeks in 2014 after four concussions inside 12 months.

“We’ve enough going on with our own stuff”, says the Ulster hooker.

“I’m not saying Sexton is a weak defender, but we’re going to target players because we want to win”. “Maybe they used the wrong term, but if you’ve had severe trauma then you’ve got to worry about the welfare of the player”.

Jones wasn’t excited or heartened by the stat. His team tops the table but the super coach hired to win long overdue trophies has been making sure egos are in check.

A critical showdown looms at the Millennium Stadium on Friday night when Wales and France collide in a fixture that will have a heavy bearing on the title race.

The confusion wasn’t helped by Leinster Head Coach Leo Cullen stating that Sexton had failed his HIA after the game, before stating that he had passed the HIA but the medics had decided not to put him back in the game.

The All Blacks have totally dominated the game since the world rankings were introduced and have won the last two World Cups. “My sense of him is that he’s a natural rugby player”, Jones said.

But even with the return of props Mike Ross (starter) and Cian Healy (reserve) to shore up a scrum that has come off second best in the first two matches, Ireland’s stock of ammunition has diminished, a concern for a team that has scored only one try.

Jonathan Joseph collected a hat-trick against Italy and there are signs that wings Anthony Watson and Jack Nowell are ready to set Twickenham alight if England can play the game at pace.

“We have the momentum to build on from our first two games and have improved with both of them, but we’ll be taking the game as a standalone event and are looking forward to what will be a tough challenge”. “They are a risk-averse team because they kick the ball so much”.