Lancaster confirms changes
STUART Lancaster confirmed the worst-kept secret of the Rugby World Cup yesterday when he named Owen Farrell and Sam Burgess in England’s starting team to face Wales at Twickenham tomorrow.
Farrell takes over flyhalf duties from the dropped George Ford, who starts on the bench, while Burgess comes in for the injured Jonathan Joseph and will start at inside centre.
The ever-reliable Brad Barritt moves to the 13 position.
Billy Vunipola is rewarded for an impressive display off the bench in last Friday’s opening win against Fiji by being given the starting position at No 8.
Ben Morgan is injured, so James Haskell provides backrow cover from the bench.
Alex Goode is also named among the replacements to cover the back three.
The change at flyhalf and the 14th different centre partnership of Lancaster’s tenure of nearly four years have been a huge talking point for two days since being leaked to the media.
He clearly wants to combat the physical threat of Wales, particularly hard-running centre Jamie Roberts, and his collisions with Burgess will shake Twickenham to its foundations.
The selection continues the remarkable ascent of Burgess, who initially struggled to get to grips with the new code after switching from rugby league at the start of the year.
He made his debut in an August warm-up against France, but his direct running and deft off-loading during an impressive cameo against Fiji showed that he has made great strides since being in camp with England.
Farrell was England’s firstchoice flyhalf until injury during the Six Nations opened the door for Ford and he too looked good off the bench against Fiji.
Known for his cool nerve, Farrell also offers a bit more physicality than Ford, while both are world-class goal-kickers.
Wales have named Liam Williams at fullback and Tom Francis at prop for the World Cup Pool A game tomorrow.
Williams has recovered from the knock he sustained in the opening win over Uruguay and Francis will partner Gethin Jenkins and Scott Baldwin in the front row.
Winger George North, centre Roberts, flyhalf Dan Biggar and lock Alun Wyn Jones return after missing the 54-9 victory over Uruguay.
“[Tomorrow] is a huge occasion for both teams and for the tournament,” Wales coach Warren Gatland said yesterday.
“Both sides kicked their tournament off with a bonus-point win but we know we need to step up at Twickenham.” – Reuters