Eddie’s looking for Mr Versatile
EDDIE Jones yesterday turned his England side upside down to face Japan in a quest for the versatility he is certain they will need at the World Cup.
Only two players, Maro Itoje and Elliot Daly, remain in the same starting positions from last week’s game against New Zealand as England experiment with one eye on Japan 2019.
With 31-man squads at that tournament, Jones believes he needs all-rounders.
So as well as giving Bath duo Joe Cokanasiga and Zach Mercer their first Test starts and Worcester teenager Ted Hill a likely debut off the bench, he is trying out several players in alternative roles against the autumn’s weakest opposition on Saturday.
“It is a really important week for us because it allows us to show how adaptable we are – and it is important to be adaptable,” said Jones.
“At the World Cup, you need players to be able to play multiple positions.
“We are trying to get ourselves so we are covering different options. At the World Cup, you don’t know what is going to happen.
“Jack Nowell at No13 is something I have wanted to do for a long time. I believe he can make a good No13 and we need more options in that area.
“JJ [Jonathan Joseph] is injured and we’re not sure when he’ll be back and Manu [Tuilagi] has still got that slight injury. We need to create more options in that area and Jack is someone who can do that.
“Mark Wilson we’re pretty sure can play No7. He played a little bit in Argentina in that area.
“He’s showing he’s a player of the highest calibre and if he keeps improving then there’s no reason he can’t go to the World Cup.”
Chris Ashton swaps wings, Courtney Lawes plays in the back row and Alex Lozowski, previously viewed as a No13 by Jones, starts at No12 after completing a four-week ban for a high tackle.
Jones’ reference point is the 2003 World Cup where his Australia eliminated a New Zealand side who had Leon MacDonald playing out of position at centre in the semi-final.
He knows that if he can be confident in the ability of the likes of Nowell, who is ostensibly a wing, and Wilson, who has played at No8 for the past fortnight, to switch seamlessly, then he will have another eventuality covered.
Cokanasiga’s impact on his debut will also be closely watched with the World Cup next year in mind. He has not yet passed his driving test but the 21-year-old powerhouse, right, is just the sort of impact player out wide Jones covets.
“It’s always handy to have one big winger that can dent a line and there aren’t a lot of those playing rugby in England,” said Jones.
“We saw Joe playing for the Under-20s and took him on the Argentina tour [in 2017]. We wanted to see what he had, which wasn’t much at that time. He’d basically run out for training and was exhausted.
“But he came to Portugal like a different guy. It was like someone had put a new person inside the same body. He is really driven and wants to be the best he can be.
“He has got a nice ball sense, he can throw an offload out of the tackle and he can find the line.”
George Ford will lead the side out as skipper against Japan at Twickenham as he wins his 50th cap.
England co-captains Dylan Hartley and Owen Farrell are both on the bench against a country that is close to Jones’s heart. He not only coached Japan but has a blood connection through his 93-year-old Japanese mother.
“It doesn’t disappear but I have never, by nationality, called myself Japanese as I was brought up as an Australian,” he said. “Japan was part of our family, and obviously marrying a Japanese, having a dog that only speaks Japanese, it’s a big part of the family.
“But this is a serious Test match and you don’t allow those things to cloud your thoughts.”