Moody set for return against French

Lewis Moody is on course to reclaim his England place and the captaincy for next Saturday's RBS 6 Nations showdown against France.

Moody made a 23-minute appearance off the bench after five weeks out with knee ligament trouble in Bath's emphatic 38-8 Aviva Premiership victory over Northampton yesterday.

The 66 times-capped Bath flanker missed England's opening Six Nations wins against Wales and Italy, but he always maintained the Twickenham appointment with France was a realistic target.

And it now likely that both Moody and prop Andrew Sheridan, who played 70 minutes for Sale Sharks against Harlequins yesterday to allay any fears about a back problem that sidelined him when England crushed Italy eight days ago, will both return.

England manager Martin Johnson will also have noted Leicester flanker Tom Croft's second-half comeback in the win against Wasps following three months out with a shoulder injury.

But outside of Moody and Sheridan, changes are not anticipated for a game that if England win it would then leave them needing to beat Scotland and Ireland for a first Six Nations title and Grand Slam since 2003.

"I feel good," said Moody. "It was nice to have a run-out.

"It was a little bit stiff after the game, but I didn't feel the knee during it, which was good. Fingers crossed, we've got through everything.

"Full credit to the physios, who put up with my whingeing and shouting at them over the last five weeks. They worked like stink.

"I've said all along that I wanted to be back for this French game. We said it was a realistic target, so we've all been proved right at the minute.

"We will see what happens, but it is just nice to be fit."

Moody will report for England duty at their Surrey training base later today, and he added: "I am going to be an excitable boy being back in the camp for real.

"It has been wonderful to see the boys do so well so far in the Six Nations. Mike Tindall has done a cracking job as captain and the guys who have come in have stuck their hands up, which bodes well in a World Cup year.

"But it has also been soul-destroying for me. I am a terrible spectator of the game, and I've found it difficult."

Johnson is due to name his team to face Les Bleus next Thursday, but Moody is not counting any chickens in terms of selection.

He added: "It's a discussion we will need to have in the week, but I've returned from injury and played nine minutes before being recalled to the England team, so the lack of time is not an issue.

"It's not ideal not to have had loads of game-time, but I had 60 minutes before this season's autumn series started due to my eye injury.

"England is a team I have been involved with for 10 or 11 years now, and I've been through all the highs and lows. We are certainly on a high at the minute.

"An incredible amount of work has gone in, and we are now starting to see the rewards, so to have missed the start of the Six Nations is very frustrating.

"We have got belief and confidence in ourselves, and the coaches believe we have it in us.

"That final Test in Australia during the summer (England won 21-20), we showed the world what we had been talking about and what we knew we were capable of as a squad.

"Until you do that, you can't just keep talking about it, you have to prove it.

"We've taken it from there. Consistency of performance is the key, and we built on that through the autumn series and then into the Six Nations."

As for Sheridan, who was replaced by debutant Alex Corbisiero against Italy, Sale coach Pete Anglesea said: "He's fine. Martin Johnson contacted us earlier in the week and wanted him to have a run-out to test his back.

And Leicester rugby director Richard Cockerill said of Croft: "He was really good - we will look to get him some more game-time next week.

"He is world-class and we don't know how long it will be before England come for him, but we will try and get as much out of him as we can."