Hadden receives boost

Frank Hadden, the Scotland head coach, has the backing of the players, according to the wing Thom Evans. Hadden's future has been the focus of much debate during the Six Nations but following defeats to Wales and France, the pressure was eased following an unconvincing win over Italy at Murrayfield on Saturday. "Frank has got the support of all the players," said Evans. "I think he's a great coach and if ever there's a problem which he feels needs to be addressed, he'll always take the player aside and explain the reasoning for it. That's great to do when you're the head coach and I'm firmly behind him."

England were relieved to discover Paul Sackey's leg injury is not as bad as first feared. The Wasps winger limped out of England's 14-13 defeat to Ireland but X-rays have confirmed Sackey has not suffered any bone damage and that the injury is in his left calf muscle Jean-Baptiste Elissalde's hopes of a recall to the France squad are set to be dashed after the scrum-half hurt his elbow on club duty at the weekend.

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