England retained hope yesterday that Mike Brown will participate in Sunday’s Six Nations showdown with Ireland after completing the latest stage in the return to play protocols for concussion.

Brown was knocked unconscious after an accidental collision with Andrea Masi in the 47-17 victory over Italy and is a doubt for the potential title decider at Lansdowne Road.

The reigning player of the Championship suffered a recurrence of symptoms last week and was forced to restart the protocols but completed yesterday’s running session and will progress on to the next stage.