Eddie is wrong, Itoje must start

I’m scratching my head. I can’t think of a single reason why maro Itoje isn’t starting tomorrow’s Test against Australia. It’s baffling.

Australia are finishing the season like a train and this is the showpiece game of the autumn series for England. It’s the match you play your ‘Gun XV’ and the one, more than any other, that you use as a yardstick.

Yet here we have one of England’s two nominees for world player of the year on the bench. What’s going on?

There is no suggestion that Itoje needs a rest after the Lions tour and he is not injured. He was virtually ever- present for Saracens in September and also in their big European matches in October.

I was surprised that Itoje and Owen Farrell did not start against Argentina, but I’m astonished Itoje is not starting this game.

I would imagine one or two England fans will also be disgruntled about the selection, having expected to see Itoje feature prominently this autumn.

These are the players who people come to watch, the players who sell out stadiums. These matches should not be seen as trial games!

And, as ever, I’m not buying this stuff about ‘finishers’. Against an Australia team who are on fire, you must start with your best XV and keep as many of your best players on the park for as long as possible.

For that reason, as I stated last week, I would also have started with Jamie George and Harry Williams in the front row. It’s their time.

In the backs, there are no complaints. I would have started Farrell at 10 but there is so much to like about an extremely dangerous back division laden with potential and the Ford-Farrell combination has worked very well for Jones so far.

mind you, much the same could be said last week and England simply didn’t play at a high enough tempo, or with the precision that could bring their back line into the game. That is the main thing that must change tomorrow.

What I also like about the England back four — the back three and the outside centre — is that with the exception of Anthony Watson, who would always be one of the first names on my England team sheet, they are all hungry players still looking to establish themselves in the England side.

There is so much competition and pressure — good pressure.

I’m sure we’ll see a brilliant match tomorrow, but maro Itoje should have been at the very heart of it.