Tigers fly-half Ford is back in the England team to help slay the wounded Welsh dragon
TIGERS stars George Ford and Ben Youngs have been reunited as England’s half-backs for the Autumn Nations Cup clash against Wales tomorrow.
Fly-half Ford won his 70th Test cap from the bench in the win over Ireland last weekend after returning from injury and will start in the No10 shirt at Parc y Scarlets as England chase a hat-trick of Cup wins.
Youngs is in line for his 103rd England appearance, while Tigers prop Ellis Genge is included among the replacements after winning his 21st cap against the Irish.
But England head coach Eddie Jones has warned his players they will be facing a Welsh team desperate to rescue an abysmal year by upstaging their greatest rivals.
Wayne Pivac’s underpressure regime bought some breathing space with a comfortable win against Georgia last weekend to end a six-Test losing run, but concerns over Warren Gatland’s successor remain.
England appear to be heading in the opposite direction after bullying Ireland at Twickenham but Jones, whose only change to his starting XV is Ford at fly-half, knows the stakes make Wales dangerous opponents. “We’re expecting a really tough, brutal sort of game. Wales are in a situation they probably relish. They’ve been written off,” Jones said.
“They’re playing at the soul of Welsh rugby at the Llanelli ground, so there’s a lot of symbolism for them, and nothing would make their season sweeter than having a win over England.
“Twelve months ago they were Grand Slam champions and three points away from making a World Cup final.
“They’ve got the same players. They’re a talented team and we’ll have to be at our best to make the best of the chances we get.”
Tomorrow’s Llanelli showdown will be played behind closed doors and Jones said: “Fans add to the drive of a team, but they don’t make the drive.
“They are an important part of
We’re expecting a brutal game. Wales are in a situation they relish. They’ve been written off Eddie Jones
the game but the Welsh team have an enormous pride.
“We know they have an enormous rivalry with the England team and nothing makes their season better than upsetting the English, so we expect a very driven team.
“We’ve had a great week’s training and we’ve just got to tidy up our attitude for the game to make sure we are 100 per cent ready to go at the start and play with an intensity that Wales have never faced before.”
Ford will act as chief conductor after making his comeback from an Achilles injury as a replacement in last Saturday’s resounding 18-7 victory over Ireland.
The midfield adjustment is partially a result of Ollie Lawrence suffering a hip problem and the knockon effect is to see captain Owen Farrell join Henry Slade in the centres for the first time since the 2018 tour to South Africa.
“We just feel this is the best 23 for this particular game. There’s the tactical application to the way we want to play against Wales. George fits that bill,” Jones said.
“We want to play a certain way against Wales and having George at 10, Owen at 12 and Sladey at 13 suits the sort of game we want to play.”
While the starting XV, including the pack that submitted Any Farrell’s men in such brutal fashion, has been retained en masse, Jones has made several adjustments to the bench.
Jack Willis is poised to win his second cap after being included in a sixtwo split between forwards and backs alongside fellow flanker Ben Earl and lock Jonny Hill.
Ellis Genge has held off the challenge of Joe Marler to supply loosehead prop cover for Mako Vunipola.
For this first time this autumn Marler was available, having recovered from a knee injury, but Jones has opted to leave him out of the 23, potentially in a nod to his history with Wales.
Had he been picked, the Lions front row would have been making his first international appearance since grabbing Wales captain Alun Wyn Jones by the genitals in March, an offence that incurred a 10-week ban. Hooker Luke Cowan-Dickie wins back his place as an explosive deputy to Jamie George following his battle with a knee complaint and Anthony Watson supplies back three cover having shaken off an ankle issue.
England team:
15 Elliot Daly (Saracens, 45 caps), 14 Jonathan Joseph (Bath Rugby, 53 caps), 13 Henry Slade (Exeter Chiefs, 32 caps), 12 Owen Farrell (Saracens, 86 caps), 11 Jonny May (Gloucester Rugby, 59 caps),
10 George Ford (Leicester Tigers, 70 caps), 9 Ben Youngs (Leicester Tigers, 102 caps), 1 Mako Vunipola (Saracens, 62 caps), 2 Jamie George (Saracens, 52 caps), 3 Kyle Sinckler (Bristol Bears, 38 caps), 4 Maro Itoje (Saracens, 41 caps), 5 Joe Launchbury (Wasps, 67 caps), 6 Tom Curry (Sale Sharks, 26 caps), 7 Sam Underhill (Bath Rugby, 20 caps), 8 Billy Vunipola (Saracens, 54 caps).
Replacements: 16 Luke Cowan-Dickie (Exeter Chiefs, 24 caps), 17 Ellis Genge (Leicester Tigers, 21 caps),
18 Will Stuart (Bath Rugby, 6 caps), 19 Jonny Hill (Exeter Chiefs, 2 caps), 20 Ben Earl (Bristol Bears, 6 caps), 21 Jack Willis (Wasps, 1 cap), 22 Dan Robson (Wasps, 5 caps), 23 Anthony Watson (Bath Rugby, 44 caps).
GENGE IS NAMED AMONG THE REPLACEMENTS