Chick has qualities of Deano
United States
England Today, 2pm, C4
ADAM HATHAWAY EDDIE JONES reckons he might have unearthed an up-to-date version of one of England’s greatest No.8s – the legendary Deano.
Newcastle’s Callum Chick makes his England debut against USA at Twickenham today after bolting into contention over the last few weeks.
The 24-year-old, who is coached by two-time Lion Dean Richards at Newcastle, has leaped ahead of Harlequins’ Alex Dombrandt with Billy Vunipola rested.
And Jones admits Chick was slightly off his radar before a run of impressive performances in the league.
Boss Jones (below) said: “He’s an old fashioned No.8 – a bit in the Dean Richards mould.
“He’s a big strong guy. That’s what we want from him – he’s got to make sure when we go forward he takes us forward and when we need to stop the opposition going forward he stops them.
“We started watching him really closely about six weeks ago and the more we did the more we liked what we saw.”
With the Lions away Jones could give 12 players their first caps today with eight newbies in the starting XV and four on the bench, with more to come next weekend against Canada.
Four years ago he gave 10 players their first cap in a Test against Argentina in San Juan and one more – Sam Underhill – his debut a week later.
Jones added: “This isn’t a temporary team, this is England playing USA.
“Everyone who wears the shirt has the chance to own that shirt.
“We want the team to play that well that by the Canadian game they’ve got a hold on a shirt, and the Lions have to prove they can get back.”