Jones: Sexton's parents will be worried
England boss Eddie Jones has heightened tensions with Ireland by claiming Johnny Sexton's parents will be worried about his long-term health.
Jones claimed Ireland fly-half Sexton's parents must harbour concerns about his well-being after his latest fitness scare in Ireland's 10-9 defeat to France, branded a "whiplash injury" by Joe Schmidt.
Sexton appeared dazed on leaving the Stade de France pitch in the closing stages of the Saturday, February 13 clash, but has since made a recovery.
The 30-year-old will start Ireland's RBS 6 Nations clash with England at Twickenham on Saturday, with Jones further intensifying strong scrutiny over his head injury saga, which saw him stood down for 12 weeks in 2014 after four concussions inside 12 months.
"Sexton is an interesting one, they've talked about him having whiplash injury which is not a great thing to talk about," said Jones, after confirming Maro Itoje will replace the injured Joe Launchbury to make his full debut for England on Saturday.
"I'm sure his mother and father would be worried about that. Hopefully, the lad's all right on Saturday to play."
Ireland head coach Schmidt fended off the brickbats by reasserting Sexton's full fitness and readiness for action at Twickenham, before team-mate Andrew Trimble leapt to the Leinster fly-half's defence.
"I don't think Johnny will be frustrated by any of that in the slightest," Andrew Trimble said. "I think there's been enough talk about it.
"You can read comments about it, but it doesn't actually make an impact on what happens on the pitch.
"If Johnny knows he feels fit then I don't think he'll be frustrated in the slightest by it."