Maro Itojes openside credentials have received a strong endorsement on the day Englands options in the position appear to have dwindled.The possibility of Itoje and Chris Robshaw packing down either side of Billy Vunipola for the visit of South Africa next month, thereby retaining the back row that finished the third Test against Australia in June, has been raised by Eddie Jones.Englands alternatives are the uncapped Sam Jones and Mike Williams, but the former could soon be ruled out of contention after leaving the squads training camp in Brighton on Tuesday with an ankle injury.Jones has returned to Wasps where the extent of the damage will be assessed, but director of rugby Dai Young is braced for the worst after reflecting on a nasty injury that is not sounding great at the moment.Moving Itoje from lock to seven appears the most likely solution to the puzzle of how to replace James Haskell, who will miss all four autumn Tests because of foot surgery, and it is a move that has the backing of George Kruis.Kruis has played in the second row alongside Itoje throughout the 21-year-olds brief Saracens and England careers and has seen enough to believe he would make a success of the positional switch. Maro has got the work rate and hes very physical. Theres not much he doesnt have to be honest. If he wanted to play fly-half he probably could, Kruis said.Hes a very talented player and if it benefits the team to have him there, then thats the right position for him.At Saracens hes played six a few times. Eddie obviously has a plan of what he wants and if its right for the team, that will be the case.Jones is seeking a like for like replacement for Haskell after abandoning his search for an openside in the traditional mould.At seven were looking for a destructive defensive player, not your traditional seven player because at the moment we dont have that in England, Jones said on Friday.We went down the route of trying to find that but it wasnt successful, so were looking for a more of a destructive player like a Haskell. So Sam Jones and Mike Williams also come into that category.Williams first training session with Englands senior squad made an impression on forwards coach Steve Borthwick.We did a skills practice first thing in the morning and then a tackle practice. We were just starting slowly and looking at the technical aspects, but Mike was like bang!, Borthwick said. He was knocking everything over straight away. He knows one way and thats 100 percent. Thats great, thats terrific. Cheap Colorado Rockies Jerseys . -- Catcher Brett Hayes has agreed to a $630,000, one-year contract with the Kansas City Royals, avoiding salary arbitration. Cheap Tampa Bay Rays Jerseys . In the lead up - which seemed to begin the moment Mike Geiger blew the whistle in Houston last Thursday night - the Impact rumour mill went into overdrive. The speculation went into meltdown mode, of the golden nugget variety. http://www.cheapmlbjerseysoutlet.com/?tag=cheap-san-francisco-giants-jerseys . The lawyers filed a 33-page amended complaint Tuesday in federal court in Manhattan, expanding on the suit originally filed Oct. 3 in New York Supreme Court. Arbitrator Fredric Horowitz last week refused to compel Selig to testify in the grievance, and Rodriguez then walked out of the hearing without testifying. Cheap Chicago Cubs Jerseys . -- Whether Jeremy Hill deserves a prominent role in LSUs offence this early in the season is a matter for debate. Cheap Los Angeles Angels Jerseys . "Trying to breathe," he said with a grin. Bernier stopped 42 of 43 shots on Monday night, including all 22 in a hectic middle frame, his heroic performance propelling the Leafs toward an undue point in their final game before the Christmas break. NAPA, Calif. -- Scott Piercy began the new PGA Tour season by pouring in putts and setting the course record at Silverado, a 10-under 62 for a two-shot lead Thursday in the Safeway Open.Conditions were practically perfect in the morning, and Piercy took advantage. He made 12 birdies , only three of them from inside 10 feet, and he even missed a pair of birdie chances from inside 8 feet.He wasnt alone in attacking Silverado.Paul Casey, coming off a pair of runner-up finishes in the FedEx Cup playoffs that signaled a return to form, birdied his last three holes for a 64. Patton Kizzire also shot a 64.Jon Rahm of Spain, who earned his PGA Tour card from sponsor exemptions last season after wrapping up his college career at Arizona State, began his PGA Tour career as a member in fine fashion. He made a hole-in-one -- the first one of his life -- on his second hole, the par-3 11th. His 7-iron from 173 yards flew straight into the cup.Very special moment, Rahm said. It was hard to believe. I actually thought it hit inside the hole and bounced out.Phil Mickelson , playing a domestic PGA Tour event in the fall for the first time in a decade, overcame a bogey-bogey start to post a 69, along with playing partner and defending champion Emiliano Grillo. Bill Haas was added to that group when Tiger Woods withdrew and showed no vulnerability in his game by posting a 66, the best score of the afternoon.I got off to a slow start. I wasnt as focused as I need to be, Mickelson said. But I put myself in a position where tomorrow if I can get hot on the greens -- get perfect greens in the morning -- get it going, shoot 6-, 7-, 8-under par and get right back in it for the weekend.Mickelson and Casey have had the best calendar years without winning based on the world ranking points they have earned. Mickelson is playing his final tournament of 2016, while Casey plans to play the next two in Asia before taking off the rest of the year.Piercy, at least on paper, had one of his better years. He earned $2.9 million. He had a chance to win a major at the U.S. Open until Dustin Johnson pulled away at Oakmont, and Johnson beat him by one shot at a World Golf Championship.But those runner-up finishes in big events coovered up an atrocious year with the putter.dddddddddddd Piercy was 156th in the most important putting statistic, which is what held him back most of the year.Its what carried him Thursday. He holed a pair of 18-foot birdie putts on successive holes early in his round, and kept pouring them in, one after another, to offset a pair of bogeys from the bunkers on the par-4 third hole and the par-3 seventh late in his round.I think I made more feet of putts than I did all last season, he said. Ive been working on the putter a lot and trying to get some things figured out. Today was a good start to the season, good start to get some confidence going with the putter.His power has always been there, and he showed that on the par-5 fifth hole when he blasted a drive over the trees along the line of the cart path, back to the fairway on the dogleg right. That left him only a 6-iron into the green, and he narrowly missed a 20-foot eagle attempt.That was among the few putts he missed. Piercys 62 was at least nine shots better than the course average.Casey played in the group in front of Piercy and did his best to keep pace. He made eight birdies on a bogey-free day at Silverado. The big change for Casey was a new driver as he slowly transitions away from Nike, which is getting out of the equipment business.Casey ended last season three weeks ago at the Tour Championship with a 64, and started the new one with a 64, so the time off didnt hurt him.Im looking at this as a continuation of the year, he said. I know the slates been wiped clean and we start the FedEx Cup all over again, but Im looking at this to try to cap off my season. Ive got three opportunities to try to win a golf tournament, and I havent done that yet this year.DIVOTS: Morgan Hoffmann holed out for an albatross on the par-5 18th hole. ... Cody Gribble had the low round among the PGA Tour rookies with a 67. ... Justin Thomas, who missed the playoff at Silverado by one shot last year, opened with a 75 after two tee shots out of bounds led to triple bogeys. 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