Scintillating Simmonds will put Wales to the sword
ENGLAND SHOULD PICK OFF A SIDE MISSING THEIR WARRIORS
Nobody has more admiration for Wales’s impressive win over Scotland than me, but I still make England strong favourites to triumph at Twickenham — despite Eddie Jones’s unnecessary comments on Rhys Patchell and Alun Wyn Jones.
Welsh motivation levels will be extremely high but Test matches are not won or lost by loose talk.
The size of the challenge will be different to the one presented by a callow Scotland team who fell into the traps set so craftily by Warren Gatland and Shaun Edwards.
This is an England team who have won 23 of their past 24 games and have not lost at home in the Six Nations since 2012.
This is an England team beginning to find their second wind with fresh talent like Sam Simmonds and a squad whose starting XV are less hindered by injury than most.
To their credit, Wales are making little mention of their absent stars but playing the champions away is when you really need proven Test warriors.
Wales will feel the absence of Jonathan davies, Sam Warburton, Taulupe Faletau and dan biggar as any faultlines will be prised open ruthlessly.
This is what England coach Jones was hammering away at with his remarks about Patchell.
The Wales fly-half is fairly inexperienced and, yes, a month or so ago he was probably the third-choice No 10 behind biggar and Rhys Priestland. of course, England will target him — just as they would have done with biggar or Priestland.
Putting players under pressure and making them uncomfortable is what Test rugby is all about. It is why we love it.
I have not seen all that much of Patchell, but from what I have seen, he looks a confident big-match player with a lot of X-factor. I would not be surprised to see him respond with a really big performance.
Wales coach Gatland will have enjoyed Eddie’s outburst. Not only can Wales claim to be underdogs but they now hold the moral high ground, too.
The pressure is off and Gatland can take confidence from beating England three times at Twickenham — in 2008, 2012 and at the 2015 World Cup.
I never doubted England would win in Rome last Sunday but they were better than I expected. Their performance and some of the tries were first rate.
It was an ideal start to the tournament — apart from the knee injury to scrum-half ben youngs. A bonus-point away win is never to be sniffed at but now comes the chance to build on that in a showpiece occasion.
This England team will mix it up much more than Scotland, whose front five were poor and offered no platform for their back row.
England’s forwards will win their share of possession and I anticipate seeing Simmonds taking on the Wales back row.
Ross Moriarty, Aaron Shingler and Josh Navidi were an impressive unit against the Scots but they did not have to work hard in
defence. They will have more on their hands today.
I am confident Simmonds will acquit himself well. He has that priceless speed to not only cope but flourish at Test level.
When England have been beaten by Wales in recent years, they have lost the back- row battle, with pace a key element. Now England have the quickest back- rower on the pitch — something they have not been able to boast for a long time.
I am also intrigued to see how Courtney Lawes goes again in his new Test position at No 6.
His tackling is always strong and he is a mighty lineout option at the tail, but he needs to get more involved in attack, not only making hard yards but occasionally running at space and off-loading.
As for the backs, the reintroduction of Jonathan Joseph brings yet more pace to proceedings and Danny Care’s clever kick-pass game is potentially devastating when he looks to bring the pace of Jonny May and Anthony Watson into play, plus the aerial power of Mike Brown. The Wales back three could be in for a very busy afternoon. I AM a little surprised Scotland head coach Gregor Townsend has made so many team changes after an admittedly poor show against Wales.
I was critical, but the bottom line is that a talented group, who did the double over Australia last year, just did not perform. I might have been tempted to give them a chance en bloc to redeem themselves against France.
Gregor is new in the job and Scotland are the kind of team who experience bumps along the way. The important thing is that tomorrow they show the same ambition that has underpinned their fine autumn form.
Just execute much better and be a little more canny from time to time. In sport it can be a case of less haste, more speed. IN AN ideal world, Dubliner and former Leinster Academy player Ian McKinley would have capped a stunning comeback from losing the sight in one eye by playing his first Six Nations game for Italy against his native Ireland at the Aviva this afternoon.
But sport is not always about fairytales and although McKinley, who plays in special goggles, is pressing hard for a place in the 23, coach Conor O’Shea has rightly resisted the temptation.
There is no room for sentiment. Italy were decent against England but six days later comes a real test of their resolve to improve, and against an Ireland side determined to make a statement after a pretty scrappy performance in Paris.
Ireland will win, but it is the quality of defeat that will be of most interest to Italy.