Vunipola set for England return

England No.8 Billy Vunipola is said to be fit to take on Scotland at Twickenham in their Six Nations clash on Saturday after overcoming a knee injury.

England No.8 Billy Vunipola will play against Scotland at Twickenham on Saturday and could start the Six Nations clash after a fast-track recovery from a knee problem.

Vunipola suffered the injury in November and was expected to miss the entire Six Nations but played most of the match for his club Gloucester against Newcastle on Sunday and suffered no after-effects.

England coach Eddie Jones named a 24-man squad on Tuesday with Vunipola expected to start in place of Nathan Hughes - a view given weight by photographs of a team sheet placed pitchside at training in Bagshot, Surrey.

Centre Jonathan Joseph, who was left out of the squad for the victory over Italy, is expected to reclaim the outside centre berth from Ben Te'o.

Scrumhalf Ben Youngs and winger Jack Nowell are also poised for recalls to the starting team, which will be named on Thursday.

Defending champions England top the Six Nations standings after three victories and another on Saturday would take their winning run to 18, level with New Zealand who hold the tier one world record.

Scotland will arrive in good heart after two wins but still face a huge task at a ground where they have not won in 34 years.

England squad (one player to be released)

Forwards: D Cole (Leicester Tigers), J George (Saracens), D Hartley (Northampton Saints), J Haskell (Wasps), N Hughes (Wasps), M Itoje (Saracens), J Launchbury (Wasps), C Lawes (Northampton Saints), J Marler (Harlequins), K Sinckler (Harlequins), B Vunipola (Saracens), M Vunipola (Saracens), T Wood (Northampton Saints).

Backs: M Brown (Harlequins), D Care (Harlequins), E Daly (Wasps), O Farrell (Saracens), G Ford (Bath Rugby), J Joseph (Bath Rugby), J May (Gloucester Rugby), J Nowell (Exeter Chiefs), B Te'o (Worcester Warriors), A Watson (Bath Rugby), B Youngs (Leicester Tigers).


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Source: AAP



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