England hopeful on Nick Easter return

Martin Johnson will make a decision on Nick Easter’s World Cup future after the team’s clash with Romania tomorrow (Saturday).

The number eight sat out last week’s victory over Georgia and will be sidelined for tomorrow’s game with a back injury.

"Nick's progressing so, not to tempt fate, we're in a pretty good place. We'll see where we are after Saturday," Johnson commented.

"Hopefully, we're in a good position and nothing crops up in the game. Nick's not had this injury before, it's just one of those where we're hoping he's going to be good to go next week but we'll see how it goes."

James Haskell will continue to cover for Easter at the back of the scrum, but Johnson has also summoned New Zealand-born Thomas Waldrom to the Cup as an emergency option.

"That's why we had guys in through camp, Thomas was in, learning what we do so if the situation arises he can put himself in contention pretty quickly," Johnson said.

England have yet to replace injured prop Andrew Sheridan, with Johnson keeping his options open as they move through the pool stage.