Eddie Jones suffers injury blow over Luke Cowan-Dickie before he even arrives

Cowan-Dickie is among the most prominent figures in a new wave of front-row forwards

Luke Cowan-Dickie will be out until the start of next year’s Six Nations with a thumb injury (Getty)

Eddie Jones does not yet have his feet under the Twickenham table – the new England head coach’s contract with the governing body does not kick in for another week – but he has already lost an obvious contender for what is certain to be a reshaped squad for the 2016 Six Nations.

Luke Cowan-Dickie, the 22-year-old Exeter hooker who was within a couple of crooked line-out throws of making the 31-man party for the World Cup, has undergone surgery on a busted thumb and is unlikely to play again before February, when the tournament begins.

Rob Baxter, the head coach at Sandy Park, said: “He’ll be feeling frustrated, but given the way he chucks himself around, a few weeks off won’t do the rest of his body any harm. I certainly don’t think it’s the end of the story for him as far as England are concerned.

“He’s probably one of the most exciting young players in the Premiership at the moment. Some of his defence – his line speed, his “chop” tackle – is outstanding, and his set-piece work is coming on all the time.”

Cowan-Dickie, who turned 22 in June before making his England debut in the first of their World Cup warm-up matches, against France in August, is among the most prominent figures in a new wave of front-row forwards, which also includes the likes of Nick Auterac and Henry Thomas, the two Bath props, and Jake Cooper-Woolley, the Wasps tight-head specialist.

Although he has lost ground to the Saracens hooker Jamie George, the Cornishman still has a strong chance of making the cut for the three-Test tour of Australia in June.

Talking of Bath’s resources in the tight forward department, there was a significant confirmation of a much-heralded move in the transfer market. Luke Charteris, the 6ft 9in Wales lock whose tackle count has been known to match his productivity at the line-out, will join the West Countrymen from the Parisian club Racing Métro next season – something of a coup for a club who have struggled for engine-room authority since the dismantling of the outstanding Steve Borthwick-Danny Grewcock partnership back in 2008.

Mike Ford, the Bath rugby director who landed his man in the face of interest from Cardiff Blues, said: “Luke has been one of Wales’ stand-out locks in recent years and had a very good World Cup. He’s a superb athlete at the set piece and in the loose, and has strong leadership qualities that he can bring to the squad and help us move on to that next level.”

Toulon have announced that the stellar All Black centre Ma’a Nonu, one of the key figures in New Zealand’s successful defence of the World Cup last month, will be available for the domestic Top 14 game against Agen a week on Saturday. Judging by the reigning European champions’ dire performance at Wasps on Sunday – they lost 32-6 and were one missed conversion from suffering their heaviest defeat in the competition – this will not be a moment too soon.

Nonu said on his arrival in the south of France: “I have come here for a new adventure – this is my home now.”

Toulon already have the Wallaby maestro Matt Giteau and France’s Maxime Mermoz and Mathieu Bastareaud on their midfield roster. If the outsized Nonu and the gigantic Bastareaud are paired together, the Stade Félix Mayol pitch will need widening.