FORD BOMBSHELL
He’s axed as Farrell moves to No 10 for Aussie clash
EDDIE JONES has sprung a surprise by dropping England’s player of the World Cup George Ford, moving Owen Farrell to No 10 and bringing in Henry Slade for tomorrow’s crunch quarter-final against Australia. England’s head coach admitted the demands of captaincy had affected Farrell’s form as he announced the shock midfield reshuffle. Farrell is back at fly- half despite criticism of his displays in the tournament. Conceding that Leicester playmaker Ford was ‘ disappointed’, Jones spoke of making a ‘horses
ENGLAND will switch into knockout mode tomorrow and invoke the spirit of Japan’ s iconic warriors by embracing the ultimate high stakes, in a sporting context — kill or be killed.
After the false start of an abbreviated and remarkably straightforward pool-stage campaign, the national team are ready for the serious business to begin when they lock horns with Australia in Oita. Eddie Jones made no attempt to diminish the magnitude of what his side will face. After naming his line-up for this quarter-final showdown with the Wallabies, he said: ‘You know it’s do-or-die time.
‘You see those hills at the back of us? That’s where all the samurais lived. Every time the samurais fought, one lived and one died. It will be the same on Saturday. Someone is going to live and someone is going to die. That’s what the game is about and that’s the excitement of the game. You get the best eight teams, all playing for their lives. It makes it a little bit different and gives it more meaning. It’s fantastic.’
The primary subject of discussion when Jones’s selection was revealed was the decision to overhaul the creative hub. Fly-half George Ford being dropped was a shock development that nobody had seen coming, given his sterling feats during England’s three games to date in this tournament and the unconvincing nature of captain Owen Farrell’s performance against Argentina.
Scott Wisemantel, England’s attack coach, revealed that Farrell had described his own contribution against the Pumas as ‘clunky’. That is a fair assessment. He was a long way from his authoritative peak but what Jones wants tomorrow is for his players’ combative streak to come out and in that regard, he expects his captain to set the tone.
‘He’s a warrior,’ the head coach said of Farrell. ‘He leads from the front. He competes. He’s tough. That’s what we’ve tried to produce in this team. We’ve got a tough team who compete hard. That’s how we want to play. That’s the England style of playing.’
There has been a concerted attempt to instil a sense of national identity in the way England operate and Jones sees that as a demonstration of overt physicality and aggression. He wants his side to take charge of the set-piece contest and all the other collision areas. In explaining his selection decisions yesterday, the word ‘brutality’ was mentioned once again. It is often the English mantra under their Australian head coach.
All over the field, Jones will expect his men to dominate their opponents by imposing their power game. Manu Tuilagi has switched to inside centre and will be charged with gaining the upper hand in a seismic duel with Samu Kerevi. The clash between those two could be quite spectacular.
Up front, Jones has promoted Mako Vunipola and Courtney Lawes to his starting pack, with a view to beefing up the ballcarrying clout and defensive ferocity.
There will be plenty of brutality at the breakdown, which is where the ‘Kamikaze Kids’ come in. England rookies Tom Curry and Sam Underhill face the ominous task of negating the threat posed by ‘Pooper’ — David Pocock and Wallabies captain Michael Hooper.
The England flankers are relishing the prospect of this masters v apprentices encounter. ‘They are two world- class opensides,’ said Underhill. ‘They’re players who Tom and I, when we were growing up and coming through, looked at and aspired to be like, so it’s a bit surreal to be coming up against them now.’
Jones described Underhill as the most ‘combative’ openside he has seen for some time and the Bath forward added: ‘Being combative lends itself to the position. It’s a physical position and not the most glamorous of work at times but sometimes it’s not about linebreaks, mispasses or kicks in behind.
‘It’s pretty gritty and unglamorous work. You’ve got to enjoy that and see how what you’re doing contributes to the team. When the guys are scoring out wide it’s usually because the forwards have done something good in the middle; something that’s fairly dull to watch but that creates special moments in the game.’
The English challenge in a match they are clear favourites to win will be founded on such earthy qualities: hard graft, tenacity and aggressive commitment. Even those in the supposedly ‘glamorous’ roles have that mindset.
Henry Slade will start at outside centre and when asked about the Exeter playmaker, defence coach John Mitchell said: ‘He’s a real quality athlete. He comes across as a pretty good-looking bloke, but he’s physical as well and he’s a tough bugger.’
Slade is best known for artistry and graceful attacking class, but he argues that defensive duties are his favourite part of the game. He said: ‘Just because I look like I’m in a boyband — which I’ve heard before — I still enjoy the rough stuff.’
Tomorrow, like all the England players, Jones will expect Slade to be in warrior mode. The head coach promised that there would be 23 of them — his own samurais — in white. If they live up to that billing, they will kill, not be killed.