England coach Eddie Jones sticks by Owen Farrell for Six Nations clash with Italy after shock defeat to Scotland

EDDIE JONES got the hump as he defended captain Owen Farrell’s slump.

The England boss is refusing to take his skipper out of the firing line after his below-par performance in the defeat to Scotland at the weekend, despite him also struggling two months ago against France

Farrell started England's embarrassing 11-6 defeat by Scotland to begin their Six Nations campaign.

At worst, Farrell will surrender his fly-half spot to George Ford and shift back to inside centre against Italy on Saturday.

Jones said: “It’s the same for anyone who’s captain, they’ve got to keep performing at a high level.

“Having one game where they’re not at the level expected is not a reason to start speculating on whether he’s going to be dropped or not.

“I always thought a slump was about having three or four bad games, but now it must be one game, is it? I am not prepared to talk about a slump.

“He’s an outstanding player and like any outstanding player, they can have a game where they’re not at their best.

“Is that a reason to drop the player? I wouldn’t think so.

“I don’t know what the discussion has been, so I can’t really comment on it. I’m immersed in a bubble. I’m concentrating on the team.

“Owen was disappointed with his performance against Scotland, like a number of players and like I was in my own performance. We’re all working to improve.

“Every player is up  for selection. It’s all dependent on form.

“You look at historical form, present form and you have to make the right decisions for the team. Owen is no different to any other player.”

Jones was fired up  and edgy after being heavily criticised for England’s run of poor displays  since their World Cup final defeat to South Africa in 2019.

The performance against Scotland was their 'worst ever', according to former coach Sir Clive Woodward.

Yesterday he brought Lions duo Mako  Vunipola and Kyle  Sinckler into the squad after injury and a ban  as he looks to turn things around.

And the Australian added: “Usually when  you have lost there’s a  bit more emotion, which is normal, because  you’re hurt.

“The one thing about this group of players is that they’re an honest, hard-working, committed group  and they were massively disappointed, as were the coaching staff. We all share the disappointment.”