EDDIE TO DITCH DYLAN:
George set to start as Hartley drops to bench
EDDIE JONES was last night poised to name Dylan Hartley on the bench for only the second time, with Jamie George expected to be chosen as England’s starting hooker against Japan.
The coach is due to name his line-up this morning for the third of four Quilter Tests at Twickenham this month and there were strong indications a front-row reshuffle is in prospect.
George endured a difficult time against the All Blacks last weekend. The England lineout unravelled after he came on for the second half, but Saracens’ Test Lion is set to wear the No 2 shirt on Saturday.
Although the 28-year- old has made only five starts and been a replacement 22 times under the current regime, they want to give him experience of being first-choice ahead of next year’s World Cup.
So despite Jones urging Hartley to deliver more match involvements this is contingency planning rather than a demotion.
The 32-year- old Northampton veteran is on course to make his 96th appearance for England, as a late arrival for a change. Hartley has started 28 times in his 29 Test appearances as Jones’s trusted leader. The only time he has been among the reserves was a year ago, for another fixture against Tier 2 opposition when Samoa came to Twickenham.
One major consequence will be to leave Owen Farrell as sole captain. He has been sharing the job with Hartley for this autumn campaign but now the playmaker will take on the official leadership duties for the first time in a home Test, having assumed the role in Paris during the last Six Nations and again in South Africa on the summer tour.
At this stage, there is no obvious suggestion Hartley is being phased out. Earlier this week, Jones spoke enthusiastically about his improving physical condition and how he hoped it could continue to improve all the way to the World Cup. But there is a clear attempt by Jones and his assistants to ensure that Farrell is up to the task of serving as captain on his own, just in case that scenario is necessary in Japan.
Jones has voiced a fervent desire for England to ‘smash’ the Brave Blossoms this weekend and he has declared an intention to field his strongest available line-up.
Yet changes are afoot, some of them made by choice. At tighthead, Harry Williams was thought to be in contention to start despite Kyle Sinckler’s superb exploits against New Zealand, although that switch is not certain.
In the second row, George Kruis of Saracens has been ruled out with a calf injury, so there is a gap to fill at the heart of the scrum and there was a hint from Jones two days ago that he may promote Bath rookie Charlie Ewels. However, the more experienced Courtney Lawes is also in the mix to start.
Danny Care will line up at scrum-half in place of Ben Youngs. The Harlequins veteran has been accustomed to cameos as one of Jones’s second-half ‘finishers’ but he is likely to form a half-back alliance with Farrell.
Out wide, Chris Ashton has seemingly done enough to be retained in the starting XV, after his Twickenham comeback last weekend yielded an early try.
But another blast from the past, Leicester centre Manu Tuilagi, is still not quite fit and is pushing to play against Australia on November 24.