Jonathan Sexton a Racing certainty for Top 14 match this weekend

Jonathan Sexton will play for Racing Metro 92 in their Top14 clash with Clermont Auvergne on Saturday night. Despite sporting six stitches in a gash over his eyebrow, a legacy of a clash of heads with France centre Mathieu Bastareaud at the weekend, Sexton will wear the number 10 jersey for the Parisian club.

He is keen to line out having only played 10 matches this season in total and just one since his enforced 12-week sabbatical from the sport; not that he showed much rust in his man-of-the-match display in Ireland’s 18-11 victory.

Ireland's next opponents in the Six Nations, England, who visit Dublin on Sunday week, await a definitive medical report on concussion victim, fullback Mike Brown, who sustained the injury in an accidental collision with Italy centre Andrea Masi last Saturday.

Hypothetical

England coach

Stuart Lancaster

explained: “Mike Brown is in the early days of the graduated return to play protocol and will not be training this week. Seven days would give him enough time in the build-up, but that’s hypothetical at the moment because he hasn’t started the process, so we’ll wait and see.”

Lancaster added when asked about a potential replacement if Brown fails to recover: "[Saracens fullback] Alex Goode was excellent at the weekend: it's the best game I've seen him play in a while. So he's right at the forefront of everyone's mind.

"Another option would be Anthony Watson to play at 15, and Jack Nowell obviously being in the squad. But the way Alex Goode played he'd probably be the next guy, but I don't want to pre-judge that."

The England coach released 17 players back to their clubs to play in Aviva Premiership matches with the exception of Courtney Lawes, Tom Wood and Geoff Parling, all three of whom are not sufficiently rehabilitated from injury to be able to take full contact in a match situation. Manu Tuilagi and Joe Launchbury have remained with the England squad to continue their rehabilitation.

Scotland and Lions secondrow Richie Gray is out of the remainder of the Six Nations and quite possibly may not play again this season after scans confirmed he had suffered a torn tendon in his upper arm in the defeat by Wales. Prop Gordon Reid sustained a knee injury.

Finally former Munster, Leinster Tigers and Connacht scrumhalf Frank Murphy has been added to the IRFU National Panel of referees just 18 months after his retirement as a player.