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Harry Randall is in contention for a place in England’s starting XV to face Italy in Rome on Sunday, but Eddie Jones won’t finalise his selection until after training in Surrey this morning.
Bristol scrum-half Randall was an unused replacement during last weekend’s shattering defeat against Scotland in their Six Nations opener at Murrayfield. But it is understood that the 24-year-old has worked closely with first-choice fly-half Marcus Smith in training, suggesting he could claim the No 9 shirt for the next fixture. That would mean Ben Youngs starting on the bench on the day when he is poised to match Jason Leonard’s national record of 114 Test caps.
However, as was the case last week, Jones is keeping his options open and his cards close to his chest until as late as possible before confirming his line-up. Once again, many players will be in the dark about their role until shortly before the team announcement at 11.30am.
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