Eddie’s looking to play route one with Cokanasiga as Jonah Lomu
With the World Cup now firmly at the front of the minds of all the Six Nations coaches, selection for this season’s Championship has taken on a different imperative for each of them.
Whether it’s confidence building, squad improvement or just not taking the chance of an injury so resting important players, each coach has his own idea as to what is the best preparation to get the squad ready for Japan.
Some stories, if true, fly in the face of all previous experiences of how best to prepare an international side for a World Cup.
Eddie Jones would seem to be changing how he wants the game to be played, not least by leaving his captain at home and with talk of a nine man scrum by bringing a back into the forwards.
On the captain front, Jones has contradicted himself so many times with his unbending selection of Dylan Hartley, it was always going to be a surprise when Jones dropped him.
However, after last year’s results the one thing the squad needs in preparing for this year is leadership and that is precisely what Jones said Hartley brings, particularly off the field. So from a continuity view point, it should make no difference if Hartley is injured or not when selecting the training squad.
Jones is known for his sense of humour and the idea of a back like Jack Nowell converting to an openside forward does sound like a joke but it could provide an inovative solution to a short term problem if the right precautions are taken.
It’s well documented the problems England have had with finding a balanced back row under Jones and it is only recently a true openside, Sam Underwood, has come into selection. Even though he is currently injured, adding one of the backs to the scrum seems a bit extreme.
I assume that whoever gets the call would only join the scrum on selected plays, otherwise it could leave our back line severely exposed with the opposition having a one man overlap to exploit.
Even so, the talk of a ninth forward is interesting as it would seem to indicate that Jones is looking to change the areas in which England plan to attack the opposition.
It appears Jones wants a more oldfashioned power-play game than the modern idea of throwing wide and stretching the opposition’s defence.
Having the Vunipola brothers and Manu Tuilagi back plus the addition of exciting big young Joe Cokanasiga in his training squad, gives some indication of the style Jones is looking to employ – at least for this Six Nations.
Jones has talked about the ‘classic England style’ of a strong destructive pack to overpower the opposition and create space for his runners. It would seem that he feels the forwards alone cannot give the time or space for his quick men to exploit and has chosen to go for the ‘straight down the middle’ approach, similar to how New Zealand used the great Jonah Lomu.
Having power runners like Tuilagi and Cokanasiga creates uncertainty in the opposition defence as to where the major attack is focused and can open up space for some of the quicker players.
It’s a brave move by Jones to try and change the style of the team this close to the Cup, particularly as he is the one coach that needs a good Six Nations both to inspire his players and his coaches after the fifth-place disappointment of last season.
A first up game against Ireland in Dublin should get the minds of all involved focused and bring some real meaning to the training in Portugal. If backs are brought into the scrum, let’s hope that a full squad returns without the unusual number of injuries that seem to follow an England session with the innovations of Jones.
With the World Cup pools announced, England are in a so-called ‘pool of death’ which contains teams all ranked substantially lower in the world rugby rankings than them.
France 9th, Argentina 10th, USA 12th and Tonga 14th against England currently 4th would indicate that if Eddie can get his squad and coaches in the right frame of mind, a quarter-final place should be a certainty.
Even though England had a bad World Cup last time, the squad has far more experience now and are stronger for that experience.
The influence of the players that have played and lost in a World Cup is an immeasurable asset to Jones as he prepares for Japan.
“It’s a brave move by Jones to try and change the style of the team this close to the Cup”
On the club front, Newcastle will be looking for an upturn in fortunes if they are not to be relegated at the end of the season but I have faith that if anyone can bring them around it’s Dean Richards.
Deano may seem a quiet man but make no mistake he is a hard taskmaster who expects results and loyalty.
It would appear that Bristol owner Steve Lansdown fears the same, as he calls for a three-year moratorium on promotion and relegation.
Although he may be right that some teams that get promoted to the Premiership don’t add value, they still deserve the right to be there. Before Mr. Lansdown put his money into Bristol, they were a club with a great history that had fallen on hard times.
If the teams above had ring-fenced back then, it’s probable that he would not have invested. Fortunately for Bristol, he had the chance to invest and gain promotion. Why deny others?