? Flanker on bench for Bath after return from injury
? Danny Cipriani in dire debut for Melbourne Rebels
The England captain, Lewis Moody, hopes to return to action on Saturday, a month after suffering knee ligament damage that ruled him out of the start of the Six Nations. The flanker is on the bench for Bath, who are at home to Northampton in the Premiership.
Moody is set on reclaiming his England place for next Saturday's potential title decider against France at Twickenham but that will depend not just on how much time he gets against Northampton but also whether the national team manager, Martin Johnson, is minded to change a winning side after last weekend's comprehensive victory over Italy.
Moody's back-row colleague in the autumn internationals, Tom Croft, also returns from injury. He is among Leicester's replacements for the clash against Wasps at Welford Road, but as he has not played for three months since suffering a broken shoulder against South Africa, he is unlikely to be considered for the encounter with France.
James Haskell and Tom Wood were the flankers in the opening two Six Nations matches. Haskell has been playing at openside, Moody's position, with Wood offering the extra lineout option that Croft provided. If Moody does return, it is likely to be at Haskell's expense.
Moody said last week that he expected to be involved against Northampton, but he was included in the matchday squad only after the club's head coach, Steve Meehan, received assurances from his medical staff. "It may have been the England camp's goal for Lewis to play ahead of the France game, but our goal is to play people who are fit and can do a good job for the club," said Meehan.
"What was of the utmost importance was that Lewis was fully fit. There was a question mark over that earlier in the week and we did not rush him back only to put his season on hold for another month. Lewis trained hard with the England squad last Friday and he has worked with us this week. He is looking very good medically."
The prop Andrew Sheridan, who pulled out of the side to face Italy after suffering a back strain, will start for Sale at Harlequins. His replacement against the Azzurri, Alex Corbisiero, is on the London Irish bench at Gloucester on Friday .
Bath, who say their contract talks with their England centre, Shontayne Hape, have stalled, will also be boosted by the return of the wing Matt Banahan and the prop David Wilson from England duty but they could find themselves with prop problems after Duncan Bell was cited for allegedly making contact with the eye or eye area of the Sale second-row Chris Jones last weekend. If found guilty, the veteran prop could find himself suspended for the rest of the season leaving Bath, in Wilson's absence, with problems at tighthead. Bell will appear before a disciplinary panel at Heathrow on Monday, along with the Northampton No8, Roger Wilson, who has been cited for an alleged stamp on Ernst Joubert during last week's defeat to Saracens.
Kingsley Jones, who stood down as Sale's director of rugby last month, will spend the next month coaching Russia, with a view to being in charge of them at the World Cup later in the year. In the long term, Jones is considering whether to join the man he succeeded at Edgeley Park, Philippe Saint-Andr�, at Toulon. "French rugby is absolutely fantastic at the moment, but I will sit down with Russia at the end of next month and consider my options," he said.
Danny Cipriani endured a miserable Super Rugby debut as the Melbourne Rebels were hammered by the Waratahs in the opening game of the season. The England fly-half had been one of the franchise's marquee signings but could not prevent his side losing 0-43 after coming on as a replacement in the ninth minute.
Source: http://www.guardian.co.uk/sport/2011/feb/18/six-nations-lewis-moody-england
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