FIGHT TO THE FINISH
England and Australia spring selection surprises for do-or-die last eight battle
RIVAL coaches Eddie Jones and Michael Cheika have both sprung selection surprises heading into a “do or die” World Cup quarter-final between England and Australia but there are sound reasons behind their dramatic decisions.
Jones has dropped in-form flyhalf George Ford to the bench for today’s crunch game in Oita, with captain Owen Farrell moving from inside centre to stand-off.
Farrell, however, has plenty of Test experience at fly-half, where he plays for English and European champions Saracens.
By moving Farrell, Jones can pair Manu Tuilagi and the fitagain Henry Slade in midfield, a combination of power and guile he deployed during the Six Nations that also offers increased defensive solidity in an area of the pitch where Australia are strong in attack.
And should England need him to close out the match, they still have the option of bringing Ford off the bench.
“Australia defend a certain way and we believe those players can trouble their defence,” said Jones, the Wallabies’ coach when they lost the 2003 World Cup final to England.
“Defensively, we feel that 10-1213 (fly-half, inside centre, outside centre) combination is a strong combination.”
With his four-year reign as England coach hinging on the team’s progress at Japan 2019, Australian Jones said: “No one has won a World Cup after losing a game and there’s a reason for that.
“You know it’s do or die time. “You see those hills at the back of us? That’s where all the samurais lived. Every time the samurais fought, one lived and one died.
“It will be the same on Saturday — someone is going to live and someone is going to die.”
With powerhouse number eight Billy Vunipola recovered from an ankle injury, England will hope “kamikaze kids” Tom Curry and Sam Underhill can star at the battle of the breakdown against celebrated Australia duo Michael Hooper and David Pocock.
Behind the scrum, they will look to Farrell to direct operations as they try to contain the threat of Australia’s strong-running Fiji-born centre Samu Kerevi.
The 2015 World Cup saw an Australia side coached by Cheika go all the way to the final after they ended hosts England’s involvement at the group stage with a 33-13 win at Twickenham.
That prompted England to bring in Jones and they have since won all six of their Tests against Australia, still coached by Jones’ former Randwick teammate Cheika.
If doing the same thing repeatedly and expecting a different result is a sign of madness, Cheika’s bold move in handing the 19year-old Jordan Petaia a first Test start at centre is evidence of his determination to shake things up.
“He is more than ready to do this,” said Cheika, who has opted for Will Genia and Christian Lealiifano as his half-backs, with Kurtley Beale passed fit after a head injury.
“I trust him infinitely, and that’s why he has been chosen.” Quarter-final fixtures Today: England v Australia (3.15pm), New Zealand v Ireland (6.15pm). Tomorrow: Wales v France (3.15pm), Japan v South Africa (6.15pm). AFP