England hope plans are not blown away
Injuries the fear in final World Cup warm-up Watson eager to push claims for full-back slot
England will be praying that the typhoon which is due to hit Tokyo on Sunday will be the only turbulence they experience over the next few days.
They depart for the World Cup 48 hours after the match against Italy at St James’ Park tonight. There is little real scope in the game itself except as a ticking-over exercise before England’s opening pool game against Tonga in Sapporo on Sept 22, but with the blight of injury hanging over every contact situation, a clean bill of health is the top priority for Eddie Jones’s squad, all the more so given that prime assets such as No8billy Vunipola, fly-half Owen Farrell, hooker Jamie George and scrum-half Ben Youngs, are all in the starting line-up.
Vunipola, such a force and the fulcrum of England’s ball-carrying strategy, starts his fourth match in succession, the only player to have put in such a shift. An injury at this late juncture would be a calamity on all levels, a blow to morale as well as to tactical thinking.
Never mind the storm clouds about to settle in the Far East. England would have one big black blob hanging over them if any of their front-line men were to suffer such a cruel blow. England have backup plans but the chosen 31 will all be desperate to board the Tokyobound plane on Sunday. A buffeting from the weather is one thing to endure: being struck down by the fates is quite another.
Jones has prepared for so many eventualities, scheduling this match for a Friday evening so as to replicate events at the World Cup, flying in and flying out so as to reproduce tournament circumstances and, in theory, he could have opted to wrap his star turns in cotton wool, but he knows that competitive beasts need an outlet, be it in training or the match-day experience. It is something of a gamble but one that England insist they are prepared to take. Vunipola thrives on honing match fitness through playing, not through endless training-ground drills. That is the trade-off: risk against reward.
There are other considerations in play tonight: Anthony Watson starting at full-back for only the fourth time in his 35-cap career, an opportunity to show that his aptitude under the high ball makes him a better option in the No15 shirt, a credible alternative to Elliot Daly; or Joe Marler as a rejuvenated possibility to start on the loosehead were Mako Vunipola not to pass muster and as an ad hoc stand-in on the tighthead.
Finally, there is Mark Wilson, ready to quell all the excitement about the Kamikaze Kids, Tom Curry and Sam Underhill, starting as the double-act flankers in Japan. Wilson, remember, was the standloan out act of last autumn on the blindside, all graft and craft, a formidable operator in his own right. It will be a swift homecoming for the onetime Newcastle Falcons back-row forward who has moved to Sale on
in the wake of the Falcons’ relegation from the Premiership. The 29-year-old is making his first start of this build-up period, eager to perform after shaking off injury and looking forward to appearing in familiar surroundings.
“It’s Friday night in Newcastle, there’ll be some drunk Geordies and some entertaining characters,” said Wilson, born in Cumbria but resident in the North East for more than a decade. “I’m an adopted Geordie. It is where I consider home. It’ll be a good atmosphere. My favourite games at the Falcons were always Friday nights because there’s a bit of a buzz.
“Everyone’s finished work and had a few drinks. I hope that everyone has a great time. I never got the chance to go to Twickenham when I was growing up. That is why this Friday will be so special for Northeast kids who love rugby. The [three] World Cup games in 2015 were brilliant.
“I’ve been able to shake off all my niggles. I feel fresh and am looking forward to ripping in.”
Jones will be similarly enthused about seeing another combination take shape in the back row. Well as the Curry-underhill link-up went against Ireland, there is no gainsaying Wilson’s impact in the autumn. Far from bemoaning his lot, Wilson is relishing the competition in camp.
“The energy and freshness the boys bring is great,” said Wilson. “The great thing is that we all seem to bring the best out of each other. The important thing for me is to stay in the moment. As soon as you start dwelling on what has happened [the success of last autumn], you lose sight of what is to come. It is going to be a special time in Japan, a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.”
The World Cup will be on everyone’s minds, the Italians, too. They have also opted for a “mix and match” selection, as Jones termed England’s, making 11 changes from the team who lost 44-19 to France last weekend.
England are primed to give their fans a good send-off performance. Bath wing Ruaridh Mcconnochie, one of the bolters in the squad, finally gets to make his debut after minor hip and hamstring injuries delayed his maiden appearance.
“Ruaridh has taken it all in his stride, really torn it up,” said Watson, his Bath team-mate, who harbours no anxieties about getting injured so close to take-off. “As soon as you start going into contact at 85 per cent, worrying about making the plane on Sunday, that’s when you get injured.”
You can only wish them all well. Fingers will be crossed not only in many households but up in the coaches’ box, too.