Jones rings major England changes
Coach selects 10 new faces for showdown with the US
England coach Eddie Jones has opted to rest Manu Tuilagi and a string of first-choice players for Thursday’s World Cup match against the US in 10 changes to the line-up that beat Tonga 35-3.
England coach Eddie Jones has opted to rest Manu Tuilagi and a string of first-choice players for Thursday’s World Cup match against the US in 10 changes to the line-up that beat Tonga 35-3 in their Pool C opener in Sapporo at the weekend.
Skipper Owen Farrell will also be on the bench, with only fullback Elliot Daly, flyhalf George Ford, No 8 Billy Vunipola, flanker Tom Curry and prop Joe Marler retaining their places for the game at Kobe Misaki Stadium.
Joe Cokanasiga, who has been struggling with a knee injury, and fellow winger Ruaridh McConnochie will make their World Cup debuts and look to stretch the Americans, with Jones hoping his side takes better care of the ball than they did against Tonga, when a series of handling errors and penalties sapped their momentum.
Tuilagi, who scored two tries against Tonga in a man-of-thematch performance, is getting back to his best after a string of injuries curtailed his England appearances over the past few years.
Dan Cole will join Luke Cowan-Dickie and Marler in the front row to earn his 91st cap, tying Jonny Wilkinson for third on the all-time appearances list.
Maro Itoje and Courtney Lawes have been replaced by Joe Launchbury and George Kruis in an all-new second row, while Willi Heinz gets the nod at scrumhalf, with new pairing Piers Francis and Jonathan Joseph in the centres.
Fierce tackling
“Our aim is to be a little bit tidier, particularly in our attack. We’d like to execute a little bit better,” Jones told a media conference on Tuesday.
“There was a lot of effort in our game on Sunday but not the execution.”
Vunipola appeared in all England’s warm-up games and, despite being subjected to some fierce Tongan tackling, has been chosen by Jones to start against the US.
“There’s a risk him going out and eating Kobe beef tonight. We feel like it’s much better he plays rugby than goes out and eats beef,” Jones said. “He loves playing rugby, the best way to keep him fit is to play him and he’s an influential player in our team.”
In announcing the squad, Jones said it is important to manage players workloads.
“It is our best 23 and we have looked at some players that would benefit not playing in this game so have kept them out of the 23,” he said. “But it is a great opportunity for another set of players to do the team proud.”
With the US playing their first game of the tournament while England have a four-day turnaround, Jones is expecting a physical test.
“US are a tough, physical team who are extremely well coached by Gary Gold,” he added. “They have prepared two weeks with the Marines for this game so they will be fit and tough.”