English skipper racing to be fit for Ireland clash

England manager Martin Johnson will discover today whether he has captain Mike Tindall and Matt Banahan available for this weekend’s Grand Slam showdown with Ireland.

Tindall yesterday had an MRI scan on the ankle injury that forced him off at half-time in England’s 22-16 victory over Scotland on Sunday.

England’s medics will examine the results this morning and assess Tindall’s situation further before a decision is taken as to whether he can feature in Dublin on Saturday.

If Tindall is sidelined, Johnson should at least have Banahan available to start at outside centre after early indications suggested he would not be cited for a clash with Kelly Brown.

Banahan had only just come on as a replacement for Tindall when ran hard and straight at Brown, catching the Scotland number eight with his forearm as he tried to fend him off.

The citing officer has until late afternoon to lodge his complaint but all the pointers are that no action will be taken against the 6ft 7in Bath centre.

Tindall has been England’s stand-in captain for the RBS 6 Nations, with squad skipper Lewis Moody ruled out of the championship with knee ligament damage.

If Tindall was forced to miss the trip to Dublin, Nick Easter would take over the captaincy for the decisive encounter.

“Of course losing Mike would be a blow, and especially so for Mike himself after what he has done for the team, but leadership is one part of our game that has really developed over the last 12 months,” Johnson said.

“If Mike is not fit to go, then the guys will just crack on.

“Matt did really well in that position when he came on, while the leadership within the group has been sound.”

Johnson will lean heavily on Jonny Wilkinson and Steve Thompson, who were playing alongside Tindall when England sealed their last Grand Slam in 2003.

“Their experience will be important and we’ll give them a chance to express that to the players,” Johnson said.

“When you are in big games the healthiest attitude to have is ’if we win by a point we get what we want’.”