Northern | US

Jones 'cautiously optimistic' over Farrell ahead of Ireland clash

England boss Eddie Jones.
Comments
Comment

England boss Eddie Jones is “cautiously optimistic” Owen Farrell will be fit for the Six Nations opener against Ireland, despite needing surgery to fix a thumb injury.

ADVERTISEMENT

Farrell – who this week was named England’s captain with Dylan Hartley ruled out for the start of the tournament with a knee issue – sat out Saracens’ European Champions Cup fixture with Glasgow Warriors on Saturday.

Director of rugby Mark McCall confirmed to BT Sports that the fly-half required “a simple procedure” at the base of his thumb and his recovery could take up to 10 days.

While the timeframe is tight with the Ireland game on February 2, Jones is upbeat over the influential 27-year-old’s chances of featuring at the Aviva Stadium in Dublin.

“I came from Saracens, they had a good win. We’re cautiously optimistic, he should be alright,” he told Sky Sports News.

Jones and his players head for Portugal on Wednesday for a training camp before the Australian names his 25-man party to face Ireland on January 31.

Rugby World Cup City Guides – Oita:

Video Spacer

Stream Nations Championship 2026 LIVE

Hemispheres collide in the new Nations Championship. Stream live, replays and highlights free on RugbyPass TV.

Watch on RPTV
Starts 4th July 2026 - USA only.
ADVERTISEMENT
Play Video
LIVE

{{item.title}}

Trending on RugbyPass

Comments

0 Comments
Be the first to comment...

Join free and tell us what you really think!

Sign up for free
ADVERTISEMENT

Latest Long Reads

Comments on RugbyPass

N
NoLongerARuck 1 hour ago
Nations Championship: 'The data shows the north has finally caught up with the south'

The Six Nations produced so many compelling games and so much of action packed moments that you can only conclude that its the best international comp out there at the moment except for a world cup. If Wales improve it will be even better especially given the strides Italy have made in recent times. The Rugby Championship is now taking a hiatus in a year it really should be building toward something better which is terrible considering the competition was so tight last year. The Nations Champs promises much but one gets the feeling that the 6 Nations teams will not be at their peak given its at the end of their long season. In terms of rugby quality and entertainment Id rather watch the 6 Nations over everything else other than a world cup right now. The North arguably offers more in terms of entertainment than the South at club level as well. The Prem, the Champs Cup, URC and Top 14 all feature plenty of scoring and different playing styles while Super Rugby seems to be the same thing game in game out. While the South tries to speed up the game artificially with new trials and law variations the North has shown you can do it with good refereeing which penalises cynical play harshly and encourages positive actions on the field. In terms of entertainment the North wins. In terms of winning? They are making strides but until they win another world cup or get a team to rank number 1 again for an extended time again they cant really say they are better than the South.

36 Go to comments
Close Panel
Close Panel

Edition & Time Zone

{{current.name}}
Set time zone automatically
{{selectedTimezoneTitle}} (auto)
Choose a different time zone
Close Panel

Editions

Close Panel

Change Time Zone

Copied to clipboard

Share Article close