Eddie Jones insists England have the resources to cover for the loss of Maro Itoje as a cloud hovers over the lock’s participation in the remainder of the Six Nations.
Itoje suffered suspected knee ligament damage in the 54th minute of Saturday’s 32-20 victory over Ireland in Dublin.
A scan will reveal the extent of the damage with an update expected on Tuesday.
Lessening any potential blow, however, is that England are well stocked for second rowers with Joe Launchbury unable to even make the bench at the Aviva Stadium.
“Maro’s going to be the best lock in the world so it’s a big loss, but we’ve got good depth,” Jones said.
“We’ll have to fill his spot and guys will just have to work that bit harder to cover his gap for how long he is out for.”
In arguably the finest performance of Jones’s 36 Tests at the helm, England were buoyed by the return from injury of the rampaging Vunipola brothers, Billy and Mako, and centre Manu Tuilagi.
Their power in the carry overwhelmed Grand Slam holders Ireland.
Most effective of all was the unstoppable Mako Vunipola, who was named man of the match.
“We had a few top players out there; they all seem to come from one part of the world, so we shopped pretty well,” Jones said.
“I’d like to get Billy fit enough to play at inside centre. Imagine him at 12 and Manu at 13!
“What Mako Vunipola did …. he’s 125 kilograms so that’s a big guy, big enough to be a sumo wrestler.
“He’s making 23 tackles, carrying the ball 10 times, he’s scrummaging and lifting in the line-out.
“But now we have that ability to dent the line and that creates space, which makes it a far easier game to play.”