England at risk of being undercooked
ENGLAND flew away from typhoon territory and back to Japan’s far south last night — on an emergency mission to reignite their disrupted World Cup campaign.
So much for best-laid plans. Eddie Jones was supposed to name a team yesterday to face France in Yokohama. Instead, that final Pool C game was cancelled as typhoon Hagibis continued its surge towards this country, with all the indications that it is destined to wreak havoc.
The squad were meant to be in Tokyo, finalising preparations. But once tournament organisers had confirmed Sportsmail’s revelation that the game was off, Jones chose to head for a favourite retreat.
England spent a week in this quiet corner of the island of Kyushu before flying to Sapporo for their opening fixture against Tonga. It is also where Jones spent months fine-tuning Japan for their ‘miracle’ victory over South Africa in 2015.
The head coach won’t mind this return to surroundings he equates with productivity and success. But these are not the circumstances he would have had in mind — no matter how upbeat his public messages were yesterday. Never before has a World Cup match been abandoned.
Jones was adamant that this was factored into England’s planning, saying: ‘We’ve been talking about it all the time, about the possibility this was going to happen. It’s typhoon season here and you’ve got to be prepared for it.
‘We had an idea it could happen and therefore you have to accumulate points in your games to put yourself in the right position in case that happened.’
It can be argued that this does England no harm. By default, they finish top, meaning they are likely to avoid Wales in the quarterfinals. Instead, they will be pitched against Australia in the last eight, and under Jones the record in that rivalry is played six, won six.
Yet this build-up surely won’t help England preserve their status as clear favourites. This would not have been a part of any coach’s preferred plan.
So far in Japan, England have stuttered to a bonus- point win over Tonga, followed by a demolition of the USA. Then Argentina were dispatched, once Tomas Lavanini had been sent off early for a high tackle on Owen Farrell. Now, a week off. What was really needed was a tough contest against France, which would have provided valuable game- time. Jones emphasised that players will be rested and re- charged, but maybe too much. There is a danger of being undercooked.
They will lock horns with the Wallabies 14 days after their last match, while the Australians will have had eight days to prepare, after playing Georgia today.
Sportsmail understands that had the France game been cleared to go ahead, Farrell was due to start again — as the England captain seeks a return to form after blows to the head in his last two outings. Henry Slade was also due to start. He needs a run after injury. The same can be said for Jack Nowell (below) and Mako Vunipola.
A World Cup quarter-final is not the occasion to blow away cobwebs. The French would not have just turned up to provide target practice, but England were favourites and defeat would not have been a terminal setback.
If Jones intended to experiment with the 10-12-13 combination of Farrell, Manu Tuilagi and Slade, that moment has now passed. Likewise, Mark Wilson has lost a chance to press his case in the back row, and the same can be said for Courtney Lawes at lock.
England believe they can replicate match intensity in training, but all Jones can do is try to drill his players into a sufficient state of readiness. Nowell, Joe Marler and Billy Vunipola are in recovery mode and he suggested at least two of them would be ‘ running fully’ by tomorrow. If Marler is struggling and Mako Vunipola is short of game-time, loosehead prop could go from a position of strength to an area of concern. But the man in charge is in philosophical mode. All summer he has preached about the need for his team to be adaptable. This is the acid test. ‘It’s the only preparation we’ve got, so it’s the best preparation,’ he said. ‘It is a great opportunity for us to regenerate, refocus and put a bit more petrol in the tank, so we’re really happy with it.’ England are convinced they will be full of fuel when they face the Wallabies — but only time will tell if they can find top gear again quickly enough.