Mike Tindall's Dublin chances slide

Mike Tindall's hopes of captaining England in their Grand Slam decider against Ireland on Saturday appear to be receding after medical experts decided to seek a second opinion on his ankle injury, writes Chris Jones.

The centre was hurt in the victory over Scotland at Twickenham and had an X-ray after Sunday's match, followed by a more detailed scan last night.

As a result of that examination, it was agreed that Tindall would be assessed by a specialist tonight, when a decision will then be made on his availability for Dublin.

If Tindall is ruled out, his likely replacement at centre is Matt Banahan, providing the Bath star is not cited over his clash with Kelly Brown which saw the Scot suffer a head injury.