England’s Farrell starts at 10
England coach Eddie Jones sprung a big surprise on Thursday by naming Owen Farrell to start at flyhalf in the World Cup quarterfinal against Australia, benching George Ford and bringing in Henry Slade to join Manu Tuilagi in midfield.
Billy Vunipola has recovered from a twisted ankle and will start on Saturday, as will his brother Mako in the front row.
Courtney Lawes replaces George Kruis in the second row alongside Maro Itoje, while Jonathan Joseph replaces the injured Jack Nowell on the bench.
Jones has long bounced Farrell between flyhalf and centre but appeared to have settled on playing him at 12 at the World Cup in Japan, where Ford has been one of England’s most impressive players, operating at flyhalf.
However, by dropping Ford to the bench and giving Slade his first start of the tournament Jones appears to be seeking to combat Australia’s midfield power, particularly the threat of the dynamic Samu Kerevi.
“Australia are a clever team. They will have some specific attacking strategies to play against us,” Jones said.
Jones used the Ford/Farrell partnership for most of his first two years in charge, but then began experimenting with the captain at 10, where he played through this year’s Six Nations. The coach has consistently said he would be happy to shuffle that combination depending on the opposition and, having returned to Farrell at 12 in Japan, has shifted him back to 10 to deliver a tough-tackling backline barrier.
Ford can consider himself unlucky to be left out, but Jones will insist that as one of his “finishers” he will have a key role to play.
England have won their last six matches against Australia since losing to them in the pool stage of the 2015 World Cup. The winners will play New Zealand or Ireland in the semifinals. –