>> Guscott: Daly would bring genuine gas at 15
“Anthony Watson looks like a real Test animal - it would be great to see whether he, Nowell and Daly catch fire as a back three”
In n ideal world Eddie Jones would love to arrive at the 2019 World Cup in Japan with 38 players that he could rotate freely in an England team that retained its effectiveness, whatever the combinations. Part of that would be to retain the ruthless finishing this England team has shown late on to win its opening Six Nations games against France and Wales.
At the moment the impact of the finishers off the England bench is sweet. The late boost of energy was there again in the pressure which created Elliot Daly’s precision try four minutes from time against Wales, while Ben Te’o’s late charge gave them the verdict against France.
The signs that the English bench is becoming more influential were there last season, but this Six Nations has seen it develop further. However, all players still want to be in the starting 15 as opposed to on the bench, even though the idea of being an impact player is growing in importance.
It is an interesting thought that a decade from now we will probably be interviewing players who specialise in finishing, and are on for 10 minutes rather than 80. What does not change in the international game, whether you start or come off the bench, is that you still have to come together like quick-set cement because of the relatively limited preparation time.
A number of ideas have been mooted about changes in the England matchday 23 for the game against Italy at Twickenham next Sunday. Tinkering with a winning team is always a risk, but if you are going to do it, then Italy is the game in which to look at your options.
James Haskell is not exactly a new option in the back row, but he must be champing at the bit for a starting slot against Italy, and given the impression that he made when he came on against France and Wales he deserves it.
I’d stick with Jack Clifford at 7 and Nathan Hughes at 8, but bring Haskell in at blindside. That would mean moving Maro Itoje back to lock, where you could partner him with either Courtney Lawes or Joe Launchbury.
I thought Clifford did well in a ferocious Test against Wales given his lack of time on the field at international level, and given the quality of the opposing back row. The same applies to Hughes. Although his contribution was not eye-catching, the Wasps No.8 put in a hard shift in Cardiff.
Hughes was carrying into a brick wall Welsh defence, as you could see when his gumshield flew out, but even though the red line did not crack he was not discouraged, and continued to slam into it.
The call for Itoje to play blindside around the pitch, but to swap in and out of the scrums against Wales – with Lawes going to blindside and him reverting to second row – must have been a really challenging experience.
You can easily get distracted from your core tasks in those circumstances, but Itoje is a clever player and showed he can handle it.
The front row is where it gets interesting, with Jones tapping into his sports science specialists before deciding the best course to take with his captain, Dylan Hartley. The Northampton hooker’s set-piece work has been solid, but he will not be happy with the contribution he has made around the pitch since coming back from injury.
Hartley has looked just off the pace, and has been a bit loose when making tackles. This raises the question whether he would be better for a week’s rest and a swap with Jamie George to come off the bench against Italy, or whether he would be better having a full throttle 70 minutes against them.
Irrespective of whether Hartley or George is at hooker, I’d start Kyle Sinckler at tighthead and put Dan Cole on the bench. At loosehead Joe Marler could play the first half, with Mako Vunipola, if fit, coming off the bench in the second.
If not, then Ellis Genge would benefit from another run. Bringing rookies like Sinckler, Genge and Clifford into the starting pack will be risky, but if you are counting back from the 2019 World Cup it is essential to give them game time when the opportunity knocks.
In the backline I’ve said before that I would like to see Te’o start at insidecentre, just to see the different dynamic. That would mean playing either Owen Farrell, or George Ford, at fly-half. Farrell is becoming increasingly influential with every game, and is part of the reason why England are in a good place.
Italy also offers an ideal opportunity to see whether Daly can be a serious challenger to Mike Brown at full-back, so he should get the 15 shirt. I would keep Jonathan Joseph at 13 and retain Jack Nowell on one wing, and bring Anthony Watson back into the team on the other, again pending fitness. Watson ( below) seems to me to be one of those rise-to-the-occasion Test match animals, and it would be great to see whether he, Nowell and Daly catch fire as a back three.
The reason Eddie Jones got the England job was because he is a coach with the experience and the judgment to know when and where to bring promising players in.
Eddie has a very competitive squad, and he will take these ‘last-minute Larry’ victories every time. He has also ensured that they train regularly at super-intense levels, and because his players are GPS monitored they know there is no hiding. But the head coach knows also that his side is going to lose at some stage, and that it will be the measure of them how they respond to it – especially, if it is in the last game of the tournament.
This should be a demolition job on Italy, regardless of who is picked. However, there is always the danger that if you shake it up too much, and it is a scrappy game, no one goes home happy – apart from the Italians. Nor do England want to struggle on the scoreboard, especially given the margin of Ireland’s victory in Rome.
The best insurance against that is covering yourself with enough experience on the bench that you could almost revert to your starting team against France and Wales if you had to.
Jones is unlikely to miss any tricks, and so far his selection decisions have been pretty much impeccable. That is why England should still be able to experiment and beat Italy comfortably, with a bonus point.