EDDIE’S GAMBLE
England’s back-row novices lined up for Cardiff showdown
ENGLAND may deploy an alarmingly raw back-row unit against the might of Wales’s all-Lions trio in a Cardiff cauldron on Saturday.
Head coach Eddie Jones is considering fielding Maro Itoje, Jack Clifford and Nathan Hughes — with only four Test back-row starts between them — amid concerns about the fitness of experienced flankers Tom Wood and James Haskell.
Northampton captain Wood missed training with a shoulder problem and the initial indications were that he will not be considered for a starting place.
Jack Nowell of Exeter is poised to replace Jonny May on the wing, but the main intrigue is up front. In the absence of Billy Vunipola and Chris Robshaw, both of whom are likely to miss the entire championship with injuries, the England management have been left with a mounting back-row casualty list.
Haskell has recovered from toe surgery and made his Test comeback as a replacement in Saturday’s victory over France, but Jones insisted he is not ready to start against Wales.
The head coach suggested that the veteran’s game time would increase gradually throughout the
tournament, despite the temptation to pitch him straight back into the starting XV.
With Wood sidelined yesterday, Harlequins flanker Clifford, who has just recovered from a chest injury, occupied the openside place in the first-choice side during training matches.
He was joined by Teimana Harrison, as Hughes also missed the afternoon session. The official line is that Wasps No 8 Hughes was having his workload managed, but it is understood that he may in fact have a knee problem.
However, Harrison was released to Northampton last night as England retained a squad of 24 ahead of the trip to the Welsh capital. Although Wood will be involved, he is expected to be among the reserves, along with Haskell. Hughes should be cleared to start, which means the visitors will be glaringly inexperienced in a key area of the field.
If the back-row selection of Itoje — who only made the switch from lock last weekend — Clifford and Hughes is confirmed tomorrow morning, it will represent a bold statement of faith from Jones in three rookie talents. They will face a daunting task, especially if Taulupe Faletau is passed fit to reclaim his Wales No 8 place alongside Sam Warburton and Justin Tipuric.
The three Lions have 147 starting caps in the back row between them, 143 more than their likely opposite numbers. As another worrying omen for England, they were an integral part of the Wales team who inflicted a record 30-3 drubbing on their Grand Slam- chasing rivals four years ago.
Exeter centre Henry Slade will remain with England for the rest of this week, but is likely to go to Cardiff as a non-playing reserve. Leicester prop Ellis Genge has not been retained on standby, as he was last week, and George Kruis is absent after confirmation that the Saracens lock requires knee surgery.
England were watched in training yesterday by national football manager Gareth Southgate, who addressed the coaching staff at a meeting, along with Australian netball coach Lisa Alexander. This follows a visit by Jones to the FA’s national training centre last May while Roy Hodgson was England manager.
Jones said: ‘We’ve had a brilliant learning day today with Gareth and Lisa. As we’ve always stated, our aim is to get better every day and we want to get people into camp who have knowledge and great experience to learn from. The staff shared a very interactive hour with them at a lunchtime meeting where we learnt a lot.’
Meanwhile, Warburton has labelled England public enemy No 1 as Wales plot to bring down their 15Test winning run in a ‘cauldron- like’ atmosphere in Cardiff.
Wales have lost four of their last five Tests against their rivals and Warburton is envious of their success. He said: ‘If you’re Wales, Scotland, Ireland, France or Italy, the biggest game is England. They really prioritise that match because everyone wants to beat England.
‘I guess that’s due to the success they’ve had in the past and what they are going through now. It’s always a big scalp if you beat England because they’re a great team. England are deservedly tagged as the best team in the northern hemisphere. It’s fair to compare them to the All Blacks right now — that’s how good they are.’
Jones has until Friday to decide whether the Principality Stadium roof will be closed for the 4.50pm kick- off. The forecast is good, so settling for natural conditions may not hamper the ability to play attacking rugby.
ENGLAND (possible) v Wales: M Brown (Harlequins); J Nowell (Exeter), J Joseph (Bath), O Farrell (Saracens), E Daly (Wasps); G Ford (Bath), B Youngs (Leicester); J Marler (Harlequins), D Hartley (Northampton, capt), D Cole (Leicester); J Launchbury (Wasps), C Lawes (Northampton); M Itoje (Saracens), N Hughes (Wasps), J Clifford (Wasps). Additional reporting: Nik Simon