Spurs trio with futures up for grabs
Sevens star joins Watson and May in potent attack Marler to demonstrate versatile skills in scrum
Christian Eriksen, Toby Alderweireld (top right) and Jan Vertonghen (bottom right) are all in the final 12 months of their Tottenham contracts, meaning they are able to start transfer negotiations with overseas clubs in January and leave for nothing next summer
England are poised to name a rapid back three for their final World Cup warm-up match against Italy, including uncapped Bath wing Ruaridh Mcconnochie. Anthony Watson, Mcconnochie’s club-mate, is expected to be handed a rare start at full-back in place of Elliot Daly, with Jonny May completing an explosive attacking unit for Friday’s match at St James’ Park.
Daly has started all three warmup matches so far and is set to be rested, while Watson, who has impressed after making his comeback from an Achilles injury that kept him out of contention for 17 months, will make only his fourth start at full-back, having won the majority of his 35 caps on the wing.
Mcconnochie had been due to make his debut in the warm-up games against Wales, having twice been named in the starting XV, only to be forced to withdraw at the 11th hour, first with a hip injury, then with a hamstring problem.
The inclusion of the former England sevens player, who won a silver medal at the Olympic Games in Rio in 2016, will be seen as a final opportunity for the 27-year-old to press his claims to bring an X-factor to Eddie Jones’s World Cup squad.
Henry Slade, however, is expected to be ruled out with a knee injury sustained in training, meaning the Exeter Chiefs player, like his club-mate Jack Nowell, will travel to Japan without having played in any of England’s four warm-up matches.
Jones is expected to make several changes to the side who defeated Ireland so impressively at Twickenham, with Lewis Ludlam, Tom Curry and Mark Wilson poised to start in a new-look back row, as England hope for a rousing performance before they depart for Japan on Sunday. Joe Marler, Jack Singleton and Dan Cole are in line to start in the front row, with Courtney Lawes and Joe Launchbury in the second row.
It is the inclusion of Mcconnochie, however, that will capture the imagination of supporters, and May, his room-mate throughout the summer, said he was excited by the prospect. “I’ve told him to look after himself, be smart, don’t push it,” said May, who will win his 47th cap. “If he wants a chat before the game then I’ll help him the best I can. He’s here for a reason. He’s had a brilliant season with Bath, got experience at an Olympics and he’s a really great guy. He’s going to do well. He’s fit and he’s strong. Maybe that’s a sevens thing, or maybe that’s just him.”
May said Mcconnochie had shown great resilience in coping with the injury setbacks that had deprived him of his first cap in the summer. “I’ve been rooming with Ruaridh and it’s been tough for him to pick up a niggle in the gym,” May added. “It was unlucky for the first game, then a second issue before the second game. Ruaridh was upset on the Friday, immediately after training, before we played Wales. Other than that, he’s just got on with it.
“For him not to mope around is a credit to him. That’s probably one of the reasons Eddie likes him. Even if he’s not playing, he’s still adding to the group.
“We train together all the time. The back-three meetings are always together. No matter who is playing, we’ll always stick to the same framework. Of course, each individual’s different, so it’s about reacting to the guys around you.”
May, the Leicester wing, said he first came across Mcconnochie when he was at Hartpury College and May was still at Gloucester.
“He’s a laid-back guy,” May added. “We’ve been having some good conversations. He had an opportunity [when he was at Hartpury] to come to Gloucester but chose sevens instead.
“He’s had a cool journey. He said the Olympics was an awesome experience. He’s absolutely buzzing to be here. That’s probably because of the journey he’s been on, getting things a little bit later – being a student then all of a sudden going to the Olympic Games, then going from sevens to Bath, then getting his opportunity here – he’s got good energy about him.”
Marler is set to feature at tighthead prop at some stage of the game to give him experience in the position, given that he will be injury cover for the other side of the scrum in the tournament with England taking only five props.
“He’s a big lump, 120kg, and he’s got a good attitude,” said Neal Hatley, England’s scrum coach. “Joe’s aggressive, he wants to hit hard, and hit hard at the scrum.”
Meanwhile, former England hooker Tom Youngs was reportedly left with a facial wound as Leicester Tiger players were caught up in a bar disturbance on the Algarve on Monday night during the club’s pre-season training camp.